


Gravity and Gargoyles

by CrossingTheFourthWall



Series: The Actions of Puppets [5]
Category: Gargoyles (Cartoon), Gravity Falls
Genre: Gen, post-puppet au, this popped into my head at random when I was at work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 43,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22595563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrossingTheFourthWall/pseuds/CrossingTheFourthWall
Summary: David Xanatos wasn't expecting there to be so much magic in one concentrated area, much less creatures that were supposed to be kept better hidden, according to his own research. However, in order to be able to get a good look at all the secrets Gravity Falls holds, he has to gain Dr. Pines' trust, first. And that is going to prove difficult, especially when he and his family are not interested in divulging their secrets that easily.Especially when the Quarrymen follow Xanatos from New York.
Relationships: David Xanatos/Janine "Fox" Xanatos, Kitsune Ford Pines/OC
Series: The Actions of Puppets [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/981552
Comments: 36
Kudos: 17





	1. Lecture of a Lifetime

**Author's Note:**

> ...to be honest, when I said I was writing something for Forduary, I wasn't expecting this to pop into my head.
> 
> Again, like my Stanuary one-shot, this story takes place Well After the Interdimensional Investigations story, and as a result, there are a few things about the characters that are probably going to blindside some people, when I get to them. Mostly things to do with my OC, Maria, and Ford's kitsune-counterpart.
> 
> Unlike my Stanuary one-shot, this is going to be multiple chapters. No clue on how many yet -- I've only written two chapters as of this posting -- but I know it's going to be an...interesting tale, once finished.

West Coast Tech was a magnificent college…or, at least, it had been. Years of only getting the best students had fallen into the past as more and more schools of the sciences – cheaper and more accessible schools – had resulted in fewer actually bright students and more haughty, rich students who didn’t know what they were doing in the labs. Which, of course, tanked grade reports and made the college look like less of a good option.

Not until recently, at least.

“This lecture wouldn’t be possible without our generous donor, David Xanatos!”

A round of applause went up in the auditorium as the dark-skinned, suave man at the front stood up and faced the crowd of students and professors behind and beside him with a smile and a wave.

Investing in this dying college had turned out to be a good investment. More students were becoming scientists and engineers, many of them taking internships from _him._ His company was benefitting greatly from the near-exclusive stream of new minds, and WCT was starting to finally come back to the forefront of the other tech colleges.

But that was _nothing_ compared to what he’d managed to wrangle for the lecture.

“Today’s speaker in our ongoing series of scientific careers is a bit, ah… _unusual,”_ the woman behind the podium on stage continued. “A scientist from up the coast who studies mainly biology, botany, and ecology, he was mostly living in obscurity until very recently, when a series of papers written on cryptozoology took the scientific world by _complete_ surprise. Here was proof that creatures considered fairytales were _real!”_ She held up a sheaf of papers. “Unfortunately, most scientific minds have been barred from being able to enter the forests of Gravity Falls, Oregon. However, we have received _actual_ photographs of gnomes and various other creatures from that valley.”

The spokeswoman paused to get the screen going behind her, and the audience’s reactions had Xanatos chuckling quietly.

The first picture, a gnome throwing itself at the photographer with a mouthful of sharp teeth, _definitely_ caught the students’ attention, and the pictures that followed definitely held them. The hawk-octopus hybrid was met with a roar of surprise and shock that left Xanatos grinning widely.

“You left that one in there?” His wickedly intelligent, ginger-haired wife frowned. “I thought you said you had better options from your trip.”

“And then I figured, why not?” Xanatos grinned. “Not _everyone_ grows up with the same fairytales. The ‘hawktopus’ seemed fitting.”

The pictures settled on a picture of the valley the town and local wildlife were settled in as the spokeswoman gestured to somewhere off stage. “And now, the man who revealed this fantasy realm to the world, Dr. Stanford Pines!”

Xanatos _almost_ couldn’t hear his own thoughts over the applause that followed the man on stage, _or_ the screams that followed as two _giant,_ multi-tailed foxes followed him out, flanking a pre-teen girl with sparkly pink butterfly wings sticking out the back of her sweater.

Xanatos leaned forward in his chair as Fox gasped.

The foxes looked _magnificent._ Larger than a pair of labradors, one was a gleaming white, with red-tipped tails and ears, wearing _armor_ of all things! Plates of red and orange armor covered its head, chest and upper back, and paws. The other, slightly smaller than the white, was a deep red, with silver-gray tips for its ears and tails, and no armor.

Xanatos was trying to count their tails as Fox grabbed his shoulder and started shaking him.

“David, those are _kitsune!_ They have to be! Were you saving those as a surprise?”

“I didn’t see them when I went to visit him,” Xanatos replied. “They might be new, or….”

Dr. Pines was saying something as the spokeswoman nervously backed away from the podium. His voice became clearer as he approached the mic. “…right, they’re not going to be causing any damage. They’re as harmless as a human is when we’re calm, I promise.”

The woman didn’t seem too relieved, and retreated off the stage as the kitsune sat to one side of the podium, the pre-teen girl sitting on the stage between them. She leaned against the red one, who curled its tails around her.

Compared to the two kitsune, Dr. Pines didn’t strike a very imposing figure. Labcoat, a red turtleneck sweater of all things, and dress pants made him look like he could be right at home in a classroom.

It was the pair of worn combat boots he was wearing that threw off the image. The way he stood behind the podium, too, was very unlike an old man who research wildlife alone for 40-ish years.

“Greetings!” Dr. Pines’ voice was bright and friendly, and demanded attention. “As was already said, I am Dr. Pines. Now, I’m sure you have many questions about Gravity Falls and what lives therein, but before you all demand answers, I intend to give you at least some of the information I have gathered over the years. Also – _yes,_ those pictures were real. If I wanted something doctored, I wouldn’t be able to do it on a digital device – _that_ is something I haven’t gotten the hang of. One of my nieces, on the other hand—”

The picture behind him changed abruptly to a horrendous mish-mash of bright colored stars and rainbows over a fight between teenage girls and what Xanatos could only _assume_ were unicorns. What else could look like horse with gaudy rainbow-colored hair like that?

“Yes, unicorns are real, and they are ‘stuck-up jerks who don’t know a pure heart if it whacks them in the face with a baseball bat,’ to quote my niece,” Dr. Pines added.

“Ki-ki-ki-ki-ki!” The white kitsune’s head tilted back, causing some yelps from the student body.

“Don’t be alarmed, she’s just laughing,” Dr. Pines called as the photoshopped monstrosity shifted for a new picture.

The new picture was clearly scanned-in, and it showed a younger Dr. Pine _arm wrestling_ with one of the unicorns. The audience very quickly joined in with the kitsune.

Dr. Pines waited until the laughter died down before he continued. “Unicorns and their _scam tactics_ aside, most creatures of Gravity Falls are _usually_ intelligent enough to hold a conversation.” Another pause for more laughter. “The gnomes for example, despite their…feral nature, can hold conversation, usually when promised food. _However,_ this makes them as bold and annoying as seagulls. It doesn’t help that they’ve attempted to kidnap my niece to make her their queen on more than one occasion.”

The lecture was definitely enlightening. While Dr. Pines only touched on what he’d discussed with Xanatos during his visit to convince the man to accept the lecture invitation, Dr. Pines still kept his attention with mentions of magic that was associated with some of these creatures. Clearly, the man was passionate about his chosen field of study, and he knew at least a little about working a crowd, if he was keeping the students this attentive and entertained. Especially since he spent so much time talking about how _frustrating_ the leprachorn and hawktopus were to study, much less understand.

“I called the hawktopus too stupid to study in my younger years and I’m holding to that now,” Dr. Pines announced as the creature in question again appeared on the screen behind him. “It’s a spawn of _something_ hidden and eldritch and if you attempt to understand it you’re more likely to have your brain leaking out of some orifice than you are to understand what genetic mutations caused it to become a reality. The unicorns are much more capable of being understood than they, and that is saying a great deal. Probably the only thing that I’ve taken away from them is they control the gnome infestation.”

Eventually, Dr. Pines wrapped up his lecture, and students started lining up at the microphone near the front of the stage to ask questions. Xanatos leaned back, grinning at the line that was forming, as the WCT students started grilling the old man.

“Let’s see how he handles them.”

The first student took hold of the microphone and looked up at Dr. Pines as he half-leaned against the podium and looked down at them curiously. The two kitsune and the girl were staring as well, the red fox’s head tilted in a curious manner.

The student hesitated for a moment, then asked, “Why did you choose to research cryptids and fantasy monsters? Did you grow up in Gravity Falls, where you could have seen these things every day?”

“No, actually. I was born in New Jersey.”

A ripple of murmured surprise ran through the audience.

“I became interested because I was born with fully-functioning polydactyly on both hands, and I wanted to see what other strange things there were in the world.” Dr. Pines held out his hands, showing that he did have a total of twelve fingers. “Gravity Falls has the highest concentration of the weird and fantastical that I was able to find in the 70’s, so after I obtained my first Ph.D, I traveled there and settled in.”

“Have you ever met the Jersey Devil?” the next person asked.

“Yes, actually. I haven’t seen the creature in _years,_ but my twin brother and I actually did manage to catch him when we were kids.” Dr. Pines chuckled fondly. “I wish I had photographic proof of that, but it had been because of a challenge by the Sibling Brothers, a pair of twins who have apparently managed to get their own mystery series?” He frowned. “They aren’t all they’re cracked up to be in real life, I can tell you _that._ ”

“Where did you get your first Ph.D? Was it WCT?”

“No, it was Backupsmore.” Dr. Pines tapped his chin in thought as more murmurs met his answer. “Recruiters from WCT _did_ come to my high school, but took one look at my malfunctioning science project and rejected me without looking at my project notes. I should hope things are different here, now.”

 _This_ was something Xanatos _hadn’t_ heard. No wonder Dr. Pines had hesitated to come! He frowned as he thought back through what he knew of the man. Backupsmore, the college that had closed its doors mysteriously twenty years ago and vanished from _most_ of the public’s memory. What he’d managed to dig up suggested it was a place to put intelligent students who weren’t able to _afford_ colleges like WCT, and the university simply disappeared instead of upgrading their facilities and attracting more students.

“If that is how some members of the recruitment team still treat prospecting students, I think I’ll have to have a _talk_ with the board, as their biggest donator,” Xanatos remarked.

“You’d better.” Fox frowned. “A man who has access to kitsune and he isn’t connected to this place? This is – _David.”_

“I was thinking about our neighbors _long_ before I sent the invite to him, my dear. I am _more_ than aware of what this man could be for us.”

“You didn’t talk about those things during your lecture.” The student at the mic pointed to the two kitsune sitting on the stage with the girl. “Is that your niece and, what, a couple pets?”

The red kitsune’s ears pulled back at the question, and the white stood a little taller and looked down at the student like a rich woman looking down her nose at some peasant. That made Xanatos grin a little, thinking of what it might take to coax the creatures into his home.

“They aren’t pets,” Dr. Pines corrected. “They’re creatures from Gravity Falls who asked to come along, and I didn’t say no.” He paused. “I didn’t introduce them, did I? My apologies – these three are one of my nieces, Star, and Flare and her mate, Infernus." He motioned to the white kitsune first, and then the red. "And yes, they are both kitsune, but I doubt they are the identical to the ones said to live in Asia.”

“Hm. I’d thought the red one was the female.” Fox was leaning forward in her chair, trying to get a better look at the two kitsune that were in front of them. It was clear she wanted to get up and close the distance between them, but she was resisting for the moment.

“Maybe the male is more powerful, and the female is big for show?” Xanatos suggested. “Or maybe the male has techniques that the female doesn’t have access to.”

“Hm. That armor, though…I don’t think that others would _have_ that, but it looks so natural on her.”

Xanatos was considering getting up and asking a question himself, but he looked back at the line of students and professors and decided against it as the line suddenly doubled in size.

“Dr. Pines, you said you got your _first_ Ph.D?” a new student asked. “How many do you have?”

“Twelve.”

It was said with a straight face, and the only laughter that followed came from Flare and Star, who was grinning widely. Infernus had a dog-like smile on his face, mouth open to show all his sharp teeth, tongue lolling, It was evident he was amused as well.

“How can someone _get_ that many?!” the student squawked.

“A lot of hard work and sleepless nights,” Dr. Pines replied seriously. “I’ve been considering going for a thirteenth, but finding one that would fit with my line of work is starting to prove a little difficult.”

“Holy crap….”

“Yes, that is generally the reaction people have to hearing about my work ethic.” Dr. Pines gave a dry smile as a smattering of chuckles ripples across the auditorium. “Any other questions about the great deal of knowledge that I’ve managed to accumulate over the years?”

The shocked student stepped away from the mic as the first of the professors stepped up. “Actually, I was wondering – why take so long to publish your findings? You could have published some of these papers years ago, and gained far better technology than you likely have right now in order to carry out your research.”

Dr. Pines’ smile dropped. “Ah. Well, I…hit a bit of a roadblock, I suppose you could say. Followed a trail of something that turned out to be detrimental, and I needed to…step away from that research, for a time. So I turned to other matters and almost disappeared from the public eye for a time. Made things rather difficult years later when it turned out my twin had stolen my identity for a while, but we’re…currently working on fixing _that._ ” He huffed. “My ‘break’ ended up being 30 years long, and getting back into it had some…minor hiccups, but we managed. And now I’m here.” He motioned to the audience with a broad gesture. “I don’t regret those thirty years, but you are right – if I had published some of my findings sooner, it’s likely that I would have been able to get better tools for my trade.”

“How were you able to pick up the funds again?”

“My brother runs the tourist trap in Gravity Falls. If you ever see those vague bumper stickers referencing a ‘Mystery Shack,’ that’s his work.”

“Does the Mystery Shack have any of the creatures from Gravity Falls in it?” asked a student.

“No, it doesn’t.” Dr. Pines looked at the two kitsune and his niece before looking back at the audience. “My brother is against it and I agree. The creatures of Gravity Falls are far too dangerous to keep in exhibits inside a tourist trap. They are almost as if not _as_ or _more_ intelligent than the average human – the ones that can hold a conversation, at least. The others are dangerous enough and have enough tricks to them that meeting the eyes of one of them would mean an immediate trip to a mental hospital if you stare for long enough. No, none of the exhibits in the Mystery Shack are the actual creatures of Gravity Falls.”

Another professor stepped up. “If I may – you say the creatures are intelligent, so would it be possible if I asked the kitsune a question? Would they be capable of answering it in an understandable fashion?”

“If they feel like it.” Dr. Pines looked down at Flare and Infernus, who looked back up at him for a moment before looking at the professor. “You might as well ask, considering we won’t know if they’ll answer or not until you do.”

The professor shifted for a moment, then asked, “Why did you come along, when you were not included in the lecture?”

The foxes exchanged looks at the question, and Star looked between them.

And then the white fox stood up and backed out from between Star and the podium…and started rising up on her hind legs.

Xanatos had to grab Fox to keep them in their seats as Flare’s entire form shifted from a giant fox to the form of a young woman, with brown hair and piercing blue eyes. The white fox ears and tails carried over, which made the jeans, orange shirt under a red jacket, and red combat boots look a little out of place. Not to mention there was no sign of armor _anywhere_ on her human form.

The audience was dead silent as Flare walked to the podium and leaned against it as Dr. Pines stepped away, giving her the mic.

“We came along because we’d heard a few things about West Coast Tech, and we wanted to see what the hubbub was all about.”

Xanatos couldn’t help but watch Flare as she spoke. She had a voice that was young and experienced in a way that a young woman never truly _could_ be. It was an intriguing combination that wouldn’t normally be found in a human her physical age…unless they’d lived through a war.

But Flare didn’t look like she had lived through a disaster. She seemed, calm, collected, and genuinely curious as she looked around the auditorium at the large audience that filled it.

“Any other questions for me?” Flare asked with a raised eyebrow.

“How many tails do you have?” the next student asked immediately.

Flare’s resplendent tails rose in a fan behind her back. Xanatos immediately started counting, but Flare answered the question verbally seconds before he finished. “I have nine. My husband has seven.”

Infernus lifted his tails in a fan as well, then settled them back into place after a few seconds as the audience members whispered to each other in awe.

“We _have_ to invite them,” Fox said to her husband. She kept her voice low as another student stepped up with a question, and Dr. Pines took over the podium again. “We can’t let an opportunity like this slip past us – look at them! They’re _beautiful,_ both of them!”

“I completely agree,” Xanatos whispered back. “But they could be connected to the world of magic in such a way that they are aware of what’s been going on in other parts of the world. Perhaps we should wait and get to know them a little better? I suppose that you have questions for them about how their inherent abilities might work for them, after all.”

“I do. I would love to corner them both, if the male can transform like Flare can.”

“Flare, do you and your husband have different abilities?” asked a student suddenly. “Can he transform?”

Flare looked to Infernus as Dr. Pines looked to her, ready to step away from the podium if she moved towards the mic again. When Infernus growled something, Flare nodded and moved towards the podium.

“He can, but he doesn’t feel comfortable doing so at the moment,” Flare said. “As for your first question…we have _similar_ abilities, but not completely identical ones.”

“She’s hiding a great deal,” Fox remarked.

“Well, wouldn’t you, if someone was prying into your private life?” Xanatos rubbed his chin in thought. “Considering their names, however, I suspect their abilities are fire-based.”

“That could be fun.” Fox grinned.

Dr. Pines motioned for the next person to step forward and ask their question, only to jump when a loud beeping noise started up out of nowhere. He started patting his pockets, looking for where the sound was coming from, but the shouts of complaints coming from the audience made him pause a few seconds before the alarm stopped.

“I, ah…I take it my lecture time is up,” Dr. Pines said.

“It seems so,” said the professor who had been about to ask a question. “Which is truly unfortunate – I had been looking forward to asking you about how your family has dealt with these discoveries you have been making.”

Star jumped to her feet and leapt for the podium. She wasn’t visible behind it for a moment, but then somehow managed to climb to the top so that she could reach the mic.

“It’s great!” Star exclaimed. “We have a huge house we all live in, and we can help Grunkle Ford! My bro-bro and I even found out a bunch of stuff that Grunkle Ford didn’t think to look for!”

“Nothing dangerous enough to put them in any mortal danger, of course,” Dr. Pines added quickly – maybe a little too quickly, in Xanatos’ opinion. “But they have been very helpful.” He helped Star get back down to the ground, being careful to not bump against her wings, which Xanatos found an interesting motion. “Well, with that, I think that wraps things up today. If you have any more questions, I would recommend reading the papers that I’ve released, or doing some research for yourself if you don’t want to make the trip to Gravity Falls yourselves.” Dr. Pines paused. “Although, if you _do_ decide to make the trip, I should warn you that you will have to put yourself through one of my brother’s terrible tours at the Mystery Shack before you will be able to reach me. He has been _very_ insistent on that.”

“Expect your wallets to be emptied, because he puts the ‘fun’ in ‘no refunds’!” Star yelled, which got a few nervous laughs from the audience.

Fox glanced at Xanatos, who sighed and nodded in response to the raised eyebrow.

“They make quite the pair, Dr. Pines and his twin,” Xanatos said as Dr. Pines stepped off-stage with Flare, Star, and Infernus, and the spokeswoman quickly stepped on stage again and called for another round of applause for the speaker before dismissing the student body and professors back to their afternoon duties. Thankfully, there weren’t any classes for the rest of the day, so students were allowed to mill about outside and discuss the strange reality that Dr. Pines had presented.

Xanatos rose to his feet. “Well, my dear, why don’t we go and say hello to Dr. Pines?”

Fox caught the meaningful smile and the gleam in his eye and followed suit. “Yes, let’s. I would love to meet this man you managed to pull from the Pacific Northwest wilds.”


	2. Seeking Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in the middle of writing the fourth chapter, and we're looking at a total of 12, maybe 15? I'll have to see how that goes.

They managed to barely catch Dr. Pines and his three guests in the back room behind the stage, where he’d stored two over-the-shoulder bags. One was a worn brown material, and the other was a sparkly pink-and-purple that Star was pulling onto her shoulder as Xanatos and Fox stepped into the room.

“Sorry to intrude as you are getting ready to leave, but my wife wanted to meet the man who introduced me to much of Gravity Falls’ wildlife while I was in Gravity Falls,” Xanatos said. He noticed that Flare hadn’t shifted into her fox form, but Infernus was still fox-shaped, sitting next to his wife in an attentive position.

“Oh?” Dr. Pines turned, adjusting the strap of his bag.

“Fox Xanatos.” Fox stepped forward, holding out a hand. “A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Pines.”

“I’m sure.” Dr. Pines accepted the handshake and saw Fox’s expression shift when his hand closed around hers. The handshake ended up being quite short as a result. “Strange, isn’t it?”

“A bit, yes.” Fox looked down at her own hand. “I…can’t say that I’ve ever come across someone with hands like that before. I can see why you would be interested in creatures such as those kitsune as a result.”

“Well, it’s more like _they’re_ interested in _me._ ” Dr. Pines laughed. “Remember, they are as intelligent as we are, if not more so. It’s best not to speak of them as lesser creatures.”

“Indeed not,” Flare agreed. She stepped closer as the couple turned to look at her. “Just because we don’t _look_ human doesn’t mean we can’t _be_ human in our way of thinking.”

“I never said that you weren’t,” Fox said quickly.

“Hm.” Flare frowned. She looked Fox over, taking in the fox-shaped tattoo over one of her eyes. “ _You’re_ interested in us.”

Infernus’ ears flicked up as Star frowned.

“I am.” Fox nodded. “I’ve always been interested in fox mythologies. I never thought you really existed, much less that I would get to _meet_ you.”

“My husband and I may not be what you expect,” Flare said. “We are different from what stories may be told in Asia. And we do want to keep certain aspects of ourselves private.”

“Like what your husband looks like in his human shape.” Xanatos moved closer to Infernus, who looked up at him. “Are you worried you’ll be recognized?”

It was hard to read the face of the fox, especially his slit-pupil, brown eyes.

“It’s interesting that your pupils change between forms.” Xanatos looked over at Flare. “Unless that is another gender difference?”

Flare shook her head. “It’s specific to my husband.”

The way Flare was looking at him, it was hard to feel not pinned down. The blue of her eyes almost looked like it was glowing. Magic, maybe? It was certainly likely – kitsune were known to be magical creatures.

“Interesting.” Xanatos rubbed his chin in thought, and noticed that Star was frowning at him. He raised an eyebrow and smiled. “What is it? Scared of me?”

“Nope.” Star’s expression didn’t let up. “You’re looking at them like Gideon gets sometimes. Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”

“Gideon?” Fox frowned.

“A boy who lives in Gravity Falls proper,” Dr. Pines replied. “He _used_ to run a psychic scam, but was arrested for a number of things a few years ago. He’s on parole now, and seems to be improving.” He looked over at Star, who nodded.

Fox raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I can assure you, whatever my husband might be thinking, it’s certainly not going to involve whatever it is this Gideon boy might be thinking. We don’t dabble in scams like that.”

“What do you dabble in, then?” Flare’s tails shifted around her, not quite encircling her lower half, but also not remaining below her waist. Three swayed behind her head, while two others entangled themselves in Infernus’ tails. “If you are interested in sciences, it would make sense that you would donate to colleges studying that sort. But you invited Stanford to this college because you were interested in _magic.”_

“That is an interesting assumption,” Xanatos remarked. “I own a corporation that has its fingers in almost every scientific advancement, and I make deals with several countries in order to help them advance as a result. What makes you think that I would be interested at all in _magic?”_

“Any number of things,” Dr. Pines replied. “You put on a good face when you were in Gravity Falls, but my brother seems to think that you want something from my research.” He frowned. “If you wouldn’t mind being _honest,_ David Xanatos. Unless you intend to follow me and confront my brother yourself.”

“I have had enough of potential cons to last a lifetime,” Xanatos replied. “As have you, it seems, unless you have some room left for your brother’s antics.”

Infernus growled, making Fox jump.

“Being a con man has nothing to do with Stanley being my _brother_ ,” Dr. Pines replied. The short tone in his voice and the deep frown that had settled in almost made Xanatos take a step back – old man or not, there was something about Dr. Pines that was strangely intimidating.

It almost reminded him of Goliath when he was angry.

“The scientists who _have_ made their way to my home have mostly been looking for ways to make off with samples of my research, claiming I was keeping everything to myself,” Dr. Pines said evenly. “They could have discovered the area while I was off doing other things for thirty years, or stumbled across any other points where strange things occurred. You are starting to make me wonder if you are simply after the same thing.”

“Nothing of the sort!” Xanatos laughed. “I’m quite content with the knowledge that I have. Really, I just want people to know that the weird and strange isn’t really all that weird and strange. You wouldn’t blame me for that sort of thing, would you? You’re changing the world, Dr. Pines!”

Dr. Pines frowned deeply. “I should hope for the better. If you’ll excuse me, we should be going – I would rather not leave my family to defend my research from potential thieving hands for long.”

“And your friends wouldn’t be interested in staying for dinner?” Fox looked to Flare and Infernus.

Flare raised an eyebrow, looking cool and calm. “How do you think we all came here together? I am not about to let our ride home leave, only to force someone to return for us the next morning.”

“We could send a driver up with you or—”

“No, no, it’s all right.” Xanatos cut his wife off with a raised hand. He caught her glare and offered a small smile in return, before reaching into a pocket of his suitcoat and pulling out a business card. “If you ever want to call me and talk business, I’d be more than willing to offer some assistance in getting you more upgraded lab equipment. Or assistants.”

Dr. Pines stared at the business card for a long moment, then accepted it. Xanatos watched as it disappeared into one of the pockets of the man’s lab coat.

“I have a feeling the research of the creatures will be staying in the family, but I will keep you in mind.” Dr. Pines turned and nodded to his niece and the two kitsune, and they walked out of the room and started for the building’s exit.

Xanatos didn’t have to wait long for his wife to explode.

“Why the _hell_ did you let them walk out of here?!” Fox grabbed his shoulders tightly, teeth bared in a glare that almost made _her_ look like one of the kitsune. “We could have learned so much, maybe even—”

“Dr. Pines is incredibly wary of people outside of Gravity Falls who are interested in his work,” Xanatos cut her off. “Which is entirely understandable, considering that he gets to watch magic happen on a regular basis. What kind of person _wouldn’t_ use that power to give himself the ability to take over the world, or to make himself immortal?”

The sly smile that crossed his face quelled Fox’s anger slightly, but not by much. She released his shoulders and huffed, turning away from him. “Is that what your plan is? Get close enough to look at his research?”

“Well, eventually, but first I want to know about the man himself. He says his brother is a con man and runs a tourist trap, he is comfortable around magical creatures the two of us could barely imagine with our experience, _and_ he carries himself in a way a scientist _doesn’t._ Not normally, anyway.” Xanatos paused, frowning. “He _did_ mention he had gone into seclusion for thirty years. You have to wonder what he managed to get himself up to if the _only_ actions people are aware of are the crimes that his brother might have committed in his name. Hm. But regardless, we _are_ going to need to know the man himself and gain his trust before we can gain complete access to his research.”

“Ah. Right.” Fox relaxed. “I should have remembered that. But is there any reason why you’re going _this_ route instead of getting the research in the usual way?”

“You didn’t see everything I saw in Gravity Falls.” Xanatos paused. “Let’s just say he wasn’t kidding about the dangerous creatures. I snuck out at night and caught sight of a giant made out of _trees._ It tried to throw something at me, but I got out of the woods before it could land a hit. I mentioned it to Pines the next morning and he said something about an annoying tree giant named _Steve._ We need to take this carefully – I _don’t_ want another Goliath incident on our hands.”

Fox frowned, then nodded. “You make a good point. So, what, we go pay him a visit?”

“Eventually. We don’t want to seem like we’re stalking them, not entirely.” Xanatos started walking out of the room, Fox following after him. “The presence of McGucket Labs headquarters _in_ Gravity Falls makes it difficult to plant any sort of tracker on Dr. Pines or any member of his home, so we’ll have to rely on getting to know him the old fashioned way.”

“Great. And I was getting used to being able to listen in on people’s conversations.” Fox sighed heavily. “All right. So, what’s our next move?”

“Well.” Xanatos smiled slyly as they stepped out of the building and started walking across the parking lot. Students were still milling around, talking about Dr. Pines’ lecture and what could exist now that magic had been proven real. “How would you feel about taking a holiday up to the Pacific Northwest? We could leave Alex with Owen, or we could bring him along for the ride. Who knows, maybe he could make friends with that Gideon boy that Dr. Pines mentioned.”

“Do you really think he would be interested in a fake psychic? At _his_ age?”

“Probably not. But a boy outside of the Pines family might be able to give us a look in. We want as many opinions and pieces of knowledge about Dr. Pines as we can get, in order to help us get into their good graces.”

“Then it might not be a good idea to have our son making friends with someone they’re not happy with?”

“True. But if everyone _else_ is in the pocket of the Pines family – or McGucket Labs – then we are going to have to make do with what we can get.”

It didn’t take them long to reach the car. Xanatos opened the passenger door, letting Fox inside, and he stepped around and settled in on the other side. He gave the driver the name of the hotel, and the car started moving in that direction.

“What’s so important about McGucket Labs?” Fox asked. “They’re a government-oriented factory for weapons, aren’t they?”

“You’d think. But he has a lot more that the Pines have been able to use at leisure that the government _doesn’t_ know about. I was only able to have a brief glimpse before I was forced out of his headquarters.” Xanatos observed his fingernails and sighed. “I wish I had gotten a better look. That man may be old, but he is sharper than any engineer I’ve ever hired.”

“Sounds fun.” Fox grinned. “I might have to bring a few toys.”

“In time, in time. I’d like to pick Dr. Pines’ brain before he decides that he wants us out of Gravity Falls before we can say ‘Danny Boy.’”

“…he wasn’t kidding about the leprachorn?”

“Nope. And I’m never going to be able to listen to that on Saint Patrick’s Day ever again.”

The ride to the hotel was – thankfully – short. As was the elevator ride up from the lobby to the more expensive hotel suites.

Xanatos reached their hotel suite before Fox did and got the door open, stepping aside for her. “After you, my lady.”

Fox smiled and nodded, then stepped into the hotel room. “Alexander! Are you working on your homework?”

“Yes, Mom,” someone called back.

Xanatos stepped in and nodded in approval when he saw his son sitting on one of the beds, papers strewn everywhere.

Alexander Xanatos, despite being only fifteen, was already a genius in his own right. A redhead like his mother, with some of the facial features of his father and the brains of them both, he was set for success. Even more so, with his ancestry and the right kind of teacher to aid him.

“I got to watch the talk on the livestream.” Alex looked up from his homework.

“What did you think of him?” Xanatos grabbed a nearby desk chair and sat down. He nodded to the blond, stiff man in a suit standing next to the bed, and received a nod in return.

Alex frowned at the question. “Honestly, I don’t know _what_ to think. Owen said all the stuff he’s saying is true, but he didn’t go with you to Gravity Falls to see them himself. And those creatures with him…I think the girl is magical too, somehow.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Xanatos thought back to Star, how Dr. Pines had been careful of her wings when getting her down from the podium. “If those wings were fake, we would have seen some clear signs of that.”

“Kinda looked like her hair was sparkly, too, but I couldn’t really tell.” Alex shook his head. “But regardless of _what_ he said, I still think some of those pictures were photoshopped. It’s hard to believe that a gnome would have teeth like _that.”_

“Well, I’m sure you would have a different opinion on that if you had gone to Gravity Falls _with_ me,” Xanatos replied. “You would have not only met Dr. Pines, but also had a gnome lunge at you when you aimed a camera at it.”

“I should hope that you weren’t _bitten,_ sir,” spoke up the man in the suit.

“I wasn’t, Owen, don’t worry.” Xanatos waved off the stare. “Dr. Pines grabbed it from behind and drop kicked it into the woods. For an old man, he’s got some impressive leg strength.”

“He would have to, to wear boots like _that,”_ Fox agreed. “Makes you wonder what he got up to when he wasn’t studying the magical wildlife.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Mom, Dad, whatever it is that you’re planning, I don’t have time for it. Puck is supposed to be giving me a lesson later on—”

“Actually, I think we may have to…postpone, that particular lesson.” Owen adjusted the collar of his button-up shirt, looking slightly unnerved. “All this talk of Gravity Falls is stirring up a few things.”

“What do you mean?” Alex looked up, frowning. “I thought you said you were going to get me started on shapeshifting this week.”

“I _was,_ but—” Owen sighed heavily. “Your father’s discovery is going to make me put that on hold for a while.”

“You know something about Gravity Falls, or about Dr. Pines?” Xanatos raised an eyebrow.

Owen _visibly_ hesitated. He looked between the three watching him with shaky eyes for a moment before shook his head and schooled himself. “Gravity Falls is a place teeming with visible magic, but it is also a place that has a terrible prophecy hanging over its head involving creatures from other worlds. It wouldn’t be wise to get yourselves involved in a place like that.”

“And yet Dr. Stanford Pines moved there from New Jersey in the 1970’s and has been living there quite comfortably studying the creatures that live there. He’s even brought his family into the mix.”

“Why are you bringing this up, Dad?” Alexander frowned at his father. “You don’t bring something up unless you have something in mind, and you know that I’m not intent on following along on another one of your _schemes_ again. Not after the last one.”

“Oh, I’m more than aware.” Xanatos waved away his son’s frowning expression. “I just want to know more about what this man knows. And if there’s a prophecy, well – perhaps he’s gotten his hands on what exactly could cause this thing that has got Owen so visibly shaken.” He looked at Owen. “Or is it Puck who is shaking in your skinsuit?”

Owen paused, then suddenly shifted.

It wasn’t really strange, watching Owen become Puck or Puck become Owen. Not after all the years they’d spent watching him give Alexander lessons on his magical heritage. Although, the festive wear that elf-eared Puck wore was becoming more and more out of place as the modern times progressed forward.

Puck clapped his hands together. “Gravity Falls is plagued with a curse from another world, so to speak. Or, at least, it _was._ Or maybe it still is, it’s hard to say with how time flows.”

“Another world?” Alex blinked while Xanatos frowned. “You mean like – like where you—”

“Yes and no, my young pupil.” Puck waved a hand. “It’s more like those…er, comic-picture-books you’re always interested in. Inter-dimensional stuff, nasty, nasty business.” He shuddered. “Especially when you meet creatures that have their fingers in more places than there are pies to stick fingers _in!_ Not to mention when they compete with what I’m capable of causing for the people who want to get my attention!” He paused. “Or, _wanted_ to get my attention. I’m a little tied down now, as it were.”

He looked pointedly at Alex, who shrugged.

“Hey, don’t blame me, I was apparently a _baby_ when it happened,” Alex replied.

“Yes, yes, don’t remind me, I’ve been reminded of that _more_ than enough times.”

“Are you saying that there are other dimensions that exist?” Xanatos was starting to grin widely. “Other realities, even?”

“Infinite.” Puck made a broad gesture that was likely meant to encompass more than just the room of the castle that Xanatos had given his son as a personal work space. “There are plenty of worlds where Goliath killed you before you met Fox, most likely, for example. _Or_ ones where your son ended up becoming—”

“Puck.” Alex glared at his teacher.

“I’m getting there, I’m getting there!” Puck rolled his eyes. “You are getting more and more like your father, I tell you.”

Alex drummed his fingers against one of his knees.

“Anyway, Gravity Falls has gotten the eye of one creature in particular – triangular fellow, terrible party-maker, founded the Illuminati, doesn’t understand _trickery_ and goes straight to _chaotic body horror._ Which makes him a terrible party guest when he starts talking about turning his minions inside out for fun. That’s not _fun,_ that’s _terrifying._ ”

“Is this your humanity talking, or your fae talking?” Alex asked.

“Oberon forbade turning people inside out because it made them die faster, originally.” Puck waved off the stares. “If a human is stolen away, they’re meant to be kept around as entertainment and potential companionship, _not_ because someone wanted to experiment and figure out what they looked like on the inside. Although, stealing away doesn’t really happen anymore. Or it might be, I don’t know, I haven’t exactly _seen_ anyone doing it since—”

“Puck.” Fox fixed him with a frown that made Puck cut himself off immediately. “Get to the point.”

Puck swallowed. “You can be as scary as your mother, you know that?” When the glare intensified, he refocused his efforts on the chosen subject. “That part of the world is the place where all the strange and weird _rejects_ go. Those unicorns he mentioned? They’re not the proper kind that everyone should be thinking of, so they were banished. Same with the gnomes, the hybrid creatures, and most everything else that lives in that valley. And all that _weirdness_ got something else’s attention, and he’s been trying to break through from his place to the human world ever since! Obviously, the planet’s still standing, so we’re not currently having any problems, but…well, I have a feeling that if you ask Dr. Pines about triangles, he isn’t going to handle it very well.”

“I already know about that.” Xanatos frowned. “He wasn’t too happy when I asked him if he had connections to the Illuminati. I thought he was going to reject the invitation to provide a lecture immediately.”

“Really?” Fox raised an eyebrow. “And what were his exact words?”

“Hm. Let’s see…I think it was ‘if I hear you ask that question again I am going to have you kicked out of the hotel and leave you to sleep with the manotaurs.’”

“He’s got that kind of influence?” Alex leaned forward. “What is he, the richest guy in town?”

“Nah, that’s Fiddleford McGucket. The up and coming government scientist who’s making all the new local tech? McGucket _is_ friends with Pines, though, so you have to wonder.”

“He was going to make you spend a night with minotaurs?” Fox frowned.

“No, _man_ otaurs. They’re bulls that are half men, rather than the other way around.” Xanatos pinched his nose. “And they have the mentality of college frat boys, _all_ of them.”

“Well, they likely have as much of a dislike for anything triangular as Dr. Pines does.” Puck frowned and sat, crossing his legs and hovering in midair. “Could be that the prophecy has already come to pass, then. Or maybe it’s about to.” He shrugged.

“What _is_ the prophecy? I would appreciate it if you stopped beating around the bush.” Xanatos frowned at the fae in the room.

“Oh, that.” Puck’s sitting position started to turn slowly, pivoting with his head in the center as though he was a slowly moving gear. “’When gravity falls and earth becomes sky, beware the best with just one eye.’ I believe that’s how it goes. Ominous, isn’t it? And not very much to go on, either – I like how our prophecies go _much_ better.”

“Yeah….” Alex frowned. “What makes you think it’s already happened? Or could still happen?”

“Pines’ reaction, mainly. If he’s met the triangle, and he’s seen that damned demon for what he is…well, he certainly won’t be a friend to anything _you_ will want to get involved in.” Puck laughed at Xanatos as he frowned further.

“Well, sounds like we just have more to do if we want to make friends with him,” Fox remarked. “I wish we know more about him, though. It would make finding out what he knows about those kitsune and earning _their_ trust as well that much easier.” She looked to her son. “Do you think you would be willing to help with _that,_ at least? If he has access to magic, that could help you too, you know.”

“I already told you, I’m not interested in whatever it is that you two are planning again.” Alex scowled at his parents. “And I’m not going to West Coast Tech, either. I’m not _that_ interested in machines.”

“It’s always an option.” Xanatos shrugged. “And you have a few years before you have to make a decision.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, I bet. But I’m still not helping.”

“Hm.” Puck stopped turning, leaving him at an odd side-ways angle pointing towards the closest wall – and the hotel suite next door. “There’s some powerful magic on this floor…likely coming from that Pines’ room. How about we make this a practical lesson and scry on him, just you and me? We can see if he’s up to anything _and –_ maybe we’ll get to see a spell that I could teach you later! How’s that?”

Xanatos’ expression brightened while Alex frowned in thought. Good old Puck, finding a way to get them exactly what they wanted while also giving Alex what _he_ wanted.

“I know what you’re doing,” Alex told Puck. “I know you’re just doing what Owen wants to do for Dad because that’s the pact you made with _him._ I’m not going to go along with it.”

Puck frowned, then dropped to the floor with a sudden thump of carpet-to-magical-being, dramatic in his misery.

“But I do admit, I am curious about Dr. Pines, since I didn’t get to meet him in person.”

Puck’s head popped up from where he’d fallen between the bed and the wall.

“So I’ll scry – but we’re not gonna tell Mom and Dad _everything_ we see when we do it. Just some stuff. Deal?”

Puck popped up so fast Xanatos could have sworn he was going to hit the ceiling, but Puck stopped himself well before then. “You drive a hard bargain, but you’ve got yourself a deal!” He settled into his mid-air seat again and held out his hands, waiting while Alex shifted his sitting position.

“How much do you think they’re going to tell us?” Fox asked as the two of them started chanting in Latin.

“Not as much as we’d like to know, but it’ll be a start.” Xanatos watched for a moment, then reached into a pocket of his coat and pulled out one of his business cards, frowning. He spun it between his fingers.

“What is it now?” Fox frowned.

“That thing about the Illuminati…the idea of it being created by a _demon_ of all things is…” Xanatos shook his head. “Normally I would find that difficult to believe, but….”

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of summoning it.”

“I _wasn’t,_ until you brought up that wonderful suggestion.” Xanatos smiled at his wife, but was met with a deep frown in return. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan to summon the leader of a secret underground organization. I’m just thinking about that prophecy.”

“If it’s still a problem, I’m sure you’ll find a way to handle it,” Fox replied. “You always do.”

“Hm. I suppose I do.” Xanatos smiled slyly. “This could be fun.”


	3. I Scry with My Little Eye

“—no!”

“Aw, come on, was my drivin’ really _that_ bad?” An old man in a flower-pattern shirt and white pants frowned at the others in the hotel suite from his arm chair.

“Yes, it is!” Stanford waved an arm towards the room’s windows. “We nearly crashed _twelve times_ on the freeway _alone!_ I am _not_ about to trust you to drive us back home tomorrow morning.”

“You’re too much of a worrywart.” The other waved off Stanford’s concern.

“ _Stanley.”_ Stanford frowned. “I would rather be a worrywart than let you kill us, you knucklehead.”

“Yeah!” Star piped up from one of the beds. “You drive _really badly,_ Grunkle Stan. Thinking about riding in the car home with you makes me want to fly myself home instead.”

Stanley put a hand over his heart. “Oof. Oof, pumpkin, that hurts.”

“So let someone _else_ drive us home! Like – like Grunkle Sixer, or Maria!” Star pointed to the two figures sitting a couch next to Stanley’s incredibly comfortable armchair. “They can drive, right?”

Nine white tails curled around her form as Maria – as Flare was _really_ named – laughed. “I can drive, sure, but it’s definitely going to be interesting with my tails everywhere. And it’s been a while since I’ve actually been behind the wheel.”

“And I’m afraid, my dear, that I am not as adept behind the wheel as others might be,” agreed the man sitting next to Maria. Seven red fox tails curled around himself and Maria, making it almost look like someone had covered them in a shredded blanket that was somehow still able to do its job.

Other than the tails and the pair of red fox ears that popped up from Sixer’s gray hair, he looked identical to Stanford Pines in almost every facial feature, except for the eyes, as Sixer’s pupils were slit where Stanford’s were that normal round shape. It was jarring, looking between them and Stanley on top of it – they were clearly related somehow, but they couldn’t be _brothers,_ not with Sixer clearly having kitsune features. Or could they?

“I haven’t had much practice with driving much of anything recently,” Sixer added.

“Well, maybe you should learn, so we don’t have to deal with Grunkle Stan’s crazy driving.” Star folded her arms across her chest in a huff, obscuring the basic atom shape she’d knitted into her sweater.

“Maybe I should.” Sixer chuckled. “I suppose, Stanford, that leaves you as our only option to drive home without Stanley’s attempts to taunt death.”

“Hey!” Stanley scowled. “Okay, so _maybe_ I need cataract surgery, but that doesn’t mean I can’t drive well.”

“I’m sure.” Stanford raised an eyebrow at his twin. “We’re going to have to get that fixed, especially if we are going to get back on that boat anytime soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure – speaking of seeing, how did yer talk go? I was holdin’ down the fort up here, so I didn’t get ta hear a lick of it.” Stanley leaned forward in his chair, looking around at the others. “Judgin’ by how ya looked when ya came back, somethin’ happened.”

Stanford hesitated at the question. “Well, the lecture _itself_ went well. The students were attentive and certainly took to the information rather well. I’m starting to wish I’d been able to stay longer to answer more of their questions, but unfortunately we ran out of time.”

“So what’s with the frowny face?”

“Xanatos spoke to us briefly backstage with his wife.” Stanford frowned.

“Oh.” Stanley’s face quickly mimicked his twin’s. “He didn’t do anything, did he?”

“His wife was interested in us,” Maria spoke up. “Considering he introduced her as _Fox,_ I’m not surprised.” She looked at Sixer. “It looked like she wanted to say more before Xanatos and Stanford cut her off and let us get out of there.”

Sixer nodded, frowning. “I don’t know _what_ those two are thinking, but everything about them tells me they have ulterior motives to everything.”

“Agreed.” Stanford nodded. “I don’t want a repeat of the last time we ran into a potentially beneficial benefactor. That apocalypse was enough.”

“He reminded me a lot of Gideon – how he used to be, anyway.” Star frowned, swinging her legs as her wings twitched slightly. “He looks all nice on the outside, but he’s not on the inside.”

“I was picking up some of that, too, I think.” Maria frowned, her ears twitching. “Although I was thinking more of Lex Luthor, to be honest. I’d paint Xanatos as a philanthropist who wants to live in luxury for as long as possible and will do whatever it takes to be on top of everything.”

“And _know_ everything about people,” Star added. “I mean – he didn’t look surprised when he saw everything in Gravity Falls. Remember, when he saw the gnomes rooting around in our trash?”

“Yup.” Stanley rested his head on a hand, propped on the arm of the chair, and tapped his chin. “I was plannin’ on chargin’ him five bucks for pictures of those things, but really, the gnomes are _everywhere._ Wouldn’t really do me any good when he could’a gone ta someone else’s garbage an’ done the same thing.” He glanced at Stanford. “Kinda sounded like you, actually, with how he was talkin’ to himself.”

“Except that _he_ is likely connected to the illuminati, and I would rather rebuild the Quantum Destabilizer and shoot myself with it than join their ranks,” Stanford replied shortly. “I’m amazed they’ve managed to last this long after the head’s been cut off. You’d think they would have realized by now that there was something amiss.”

“It could be that they are used to not hearing from him for long periods,” Sixer replied. “Or, the higher ups have realized something is wrong and it hasn’t trickled down yet. Regardless, it’s likely we won’t know for certain unless we confronted them ourselves, and we all know how likely _that_ is.”

Sixer’s statement was met with grunts of agreement from the adults.

Star kept fidgeting. “Do you think we should tell him? If we get through to him like we got through to Gideon, maybe he’ll become _actually_ nice and not pretend-nice. Or…maybe he’ll leave us alone?”

“It took Gideon a _long time_ to learn to leave things be,” Stanley pointed out. “An’ even now he sometimes pokes in place he shouldn’t. An’ tryin’ ta show an _adult_ that kinda thing? You’d have an easier time turnin’ the unicorns around, pumpkin.”

Star frowned. “We’ll think of something.”

“If we can just get him to leave us alone, I think that would be something,” Sixer pointed out. “We’ve dealt with more than enough, we don’t need _another_ potential problem bearing down on Gravity Falls.”

“Setting up the valley as a sanctuary was a good idea.” Maria nodded to Stanford. “At least that way McGucket can keep an eye on things and make sure no one tries to steal a gnome or something.”

“The natural barrier does as much for that as any tech McGucket set up,” Stanford replied. “Which I’m immensely glad for either way. At the _same_ time, bringing creatures out ourselves for a tour becomes immensely more difficult. We’ll have to make do with video and photographic evidence, especially considering that I don’t intend to rely on _you_ following me everywhere.” He looked at the two kitsune, then at his niece. “I’d rather not put the three of you in range of whatever it is that is going to be happening in the future, or anyone else in our family. I have no doubt people are going to attempt to capture creatures or set up labs within Gravity Falls in order to beat me in my own discoveries. As much as I welcome fellow scientists to find things that I might have not noticed, I would rather not put any more creatures at risk. They likely see our family as protectors, considering everything that’s happened.”

This was met with nods from the others.

“So we just need ta get home an’ keep the guy out as much as we can.” Stanley nodded. “Gotcha. Sounds like a plan ta me.”

“We need to at the very least keep him away from the forest and my research,” Stanford corrected. “If we can’t do that, then who knows what he’ll do when gets his hands on it.”

“I’m getting the same feeling from him.” Sixer frowned. “Especially considering what we were able to observe of him when he was in Gravity Falls. Whatever it is he’s looking for, we need to know more about him in order prepare against him. We shouldn’t spend more time with him than we already have.”

“Agreed. I don’t intend to let myself get pulled into anything he might be attempting, especially considering _his_ connections.” Stanford frowned. “All the same, he seemed like he believed my papers almost immediately, with no skepticism involved. I’ve got to wonder if he’s had encounters with mythical creatures before.”

“You sure? He doesn’t seem the type.” Stanley scratched his head. “You’d think that people like him wouldn’t be interested in what goes on outside their business.”

“Maybe magic is something he dabbles in?” Maria frowned. “Like a…some twisted hobby or something.”

_“That’s certainly one way to put it.”_

“If that’s the case, then we _definitely_ can’t let him into Gravity Falls again,” Sixer said immediately. “I’ll have a talk with Mayor Tyler about Xanatos and see if there’s anything in the town’s laws that might keep him from getting our research. I know there are rules about keeping the deed to the _land_ away from people in order to hold on to your property, but…”

He trailed off with a frown. His ears flicked in different directions. “Does anyone else feel that?”

Maria frowned. “Feel what?”

“It feels like there’s someone watching…”

_“Wait – what?”_

Sixer leaned forward, looking around. “Yes, I think there’s someone peering in on us.”

That got everyone else’s attention. Star and Maria immediately started looking around while Stanford rose to his feet and reached for something under his lab coat. Stanley pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his pocket and pulled them over his fists.

“I’m not detecting any sort of listening device,” Maria said. “There aren’t any electronic signals going out that I can detect.”

“I can feel the eyes on the back of my head _,_ I don’t think whoever this is is using the usual methods.” Sixer rose to his feet, tails twitching.

Maria looked up at him, looked away, then did a double-take. “Sixer, your eyes, they’re—”

Sixer glanced up at a back corner of the room, dark brown eyes now glowing a strange blue-purple color. “There’s a little glowing orb up in that corner.” The colors flickered in his eyes for a moment, going from blue-purple to brown and back again, making Sixer blink rapidly.

_“Drop it, Puck, drop it, now Now NOW—”_

Alex and Puck ripped their hands from each other, leaving Alex scrambling back across the bed as Puck slammed into the wall behind him and dropped to the floor.

“Alex!” Fox ran forward. “Are you all—”

“We got spotted!” Alex was glaring at Puck, who was groggily getting to his feet, rather than hovering. “I thought you told me scrying was a spell that couldn’t be spotted!”

“It isn’t _normally_ spotted,” Puck corrected. “Not by humans, anyway. I should have realized that there was a chance someone could have _true seeing_ of all things.”

“True seeing? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It _means_ that they can look for things that are invisible and supposed to _stay_ invisible.” Puck dusted himself off. “And unfortunately, it looks like that kitsune male is capable of it.”

“Infernus?” Xanatos blinked in surprise. “Interesting. I suppose then invisibility spells won’t work around him.”

“I don’t think he had complete control of it, though,” Alex pointed out. “He didn’t notice we were there for a while.” He frowned, scratching his head. “It’s…it’s _weird,_ though. He and Dr. Pines looked almost completely identical except for the…y’know.” He gestured vaguely to the top of his head. “And they were calling him by a different name, too.”

“Likely a nickname.” Puck shrugged. “I wouldn’t pay all that much attention to it – people have all sorts of names for each other.”

“But names are important, because they can sometimes reveal a person’s true nature,” Alex frowned at Puck. “You’ve said that enough times when we were talking about why you go by Owen around most people.”

“Er, well—”

“If they want to keep their private lives private, I’m not that interested in their names.” Xanatos waved a hand. “I’m sure they’ll introduce themselves to us with their preferred names once we get in their good graces.”

Alex snorted. The five people in that hotel room did _not_ sound like they had been interested in making friends with his parents.

“Who knows, maybe Infernus is a shapeshifter,” Xanatos added. “He could have found… _something_ about Dr. Pines appealing, I suppose.” He shrugged. “Anything else of note?”

“I get the feeling that the lesson is over, unless you can teach me about true sight.” Alex looked at Puck.

“Alas, True Sight is something that is a bit too far out of reach for you yet.” Puck sighed. “Disappointing, I know. In order to test if you’re _capable_ of it, it involves a good deal of magic, which – well, my hands are a bit _tied._ ”

“Great.” Alex scowled. “So I’d have to go somewhere else if I wanted to learn it?”

“And at least let me make sure that you’re looking in a good place first! If it turned out that you picked someone who, say, plucked out an eye to give you true sight, I get the feeling your grandpappy would have my head.” Puck sighed and shifted back to his stiff human skin, and Owen took the time to adjust his tie before replying to Xanatos.

“I believe that the demon that was mentioned earlier is dead, judging by the brief mention of it by the Pines.” Owen shrugged. “My apologies, sir – it seems you won’t be getting the chance to meet the founder of the Illuminati.”

“I wasn’t planning on _summoning_ him,” Xanatos replied. When Fox looked at him, he paused. “All right, so maybe I would have wanted to _talk_ to the guy and figure out what a demon wanted with an underground organization that had its roots in every human institution known to man, but if he’s dead, there’s not really much point, is there?”

“I suppose not, sir.”

“Right, right.” Xanatos nodded. “You said they were on this floor?”

“It’s likely they are.” Owen paused. “It…might not be best to go knocking on every door until we found them, sir. They did not seem intent on having much interaction with us.”

Alex frowned up at Owen.

“Oh, well, then maybe Dr. Pines isn’t as used to public speaking as he thought.” Xanatos considered. “I’ll send them a letter – I don’t think Dr. Pines _has_ an email address yet, if he isn’t as adept with photoshop programs as his niece is. I’ll write it up when we return home, give him some time. Maybe Infernus will forget the sudden spying by then.”

“I don’t know about that.” Fox frowned. “According to what _I’ve_ researched, kitsune are long-lived, and have long memories to match. Infernus and Flare might be different from kitsune from Asia, but I think they’ll be the exact way.”

“True. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“And I’m going to stay out of whatever you two want to do with them,” Alex announced. “If _I_ talk to them, I’m _not_ telling you.” He looked at Owen pointedly. “And _you’re_ not telling them, either. To protect me.”

Owen set his jaw at Alex’s words. “Yes, sir.”

Alex nodded, then went back to looking at the pile of papers on the bed. He started to reach for a textbook, but paused and just started drumming his fingers against the hardcover. He reached out his fingers and muttered a few words—

The portion of the bed under the textbook bounced of its own accord and sent the textbook flying into his lap.

“I’m amazed at the amount of magic you have at your fingertips,” Xanatos remarked as Alex opened his book to the page he needed for his homework. “If I had access to it, I feel my problems would have been solved much more quickly.”

“But then we would have other problems,” Fox replied. “Those damned _Quarrymen,_ for example, would be more intent on taking you out than they are the gargoyles themselves.”

“Oh, I’m sure. But they’re not, and so long as I make it clear that they can’t touch me, they won’t come near me.” Xanatos chuckled. “We’re practically untouchable, and have been for years. I haven’t heard anything from them for a long time.” He rose from his chair. “I’m feeling a little hungry. Any preferences?”

A loud slamming noise came from somewhere down the hall, making Xanatos pause with his hand in his pocket, fingers wrapped around his cell phone.

_“David Xanatos! We know you’re in this room – come out, or—”_

The muffled voice was cut off with by the sound of a body hitting a wall and an equally-muffled but somehow louder snarl.

Xanatos was almost to the door when Owen and Fox grabbed him from behind and pulled him back.

“David! If they’re looking for us, I’d rather not _tell_ them where we are,” Fox hissed in his ear. “You are not as fit as you used to be, like it or not.”

More shouts started up in the hallway, with gunshots going off. It was hard to hear who exactly was shooting at whom, but judging by the shouts there was definitely a fight happening outside their hotel suite.

“That’s what you think.” Xanatos shifted his weight, intent on throwing them both off.

“Sir, she’s right,” Owen spoke up. “You may put yourself in the line of danger if you set foot outside now, and I doubt that would lead towards the goals you want to set for yourself.”

“You just want to keep me from seeing if they ran into the Pines’ room.”

“I wouldn’t be doing a very good job of protecting your _son_ if I let his father figure walk out of this door and get himself caught in the crossfire.”

Xanatos paused. He listened for a moment to the sound of fighting on the other side of the door as he considered his options. He sighed after a moment and nodded. “All right, all right. I won’t go anywhere.”

Owen and Fox didn’t move for a moment, then released Xanatos’ arms and stepped back.

At the same time, the sound of gunshots dropped abruptly, but that only meant that the shouting, demanding voices became much more clear.

 _“Who the hell are you, and what monster sent you?”_ demanded a young woman’s voice.

Alex stiffened slightly at the voice, and pushed his homework off his lap and scrambled off the bed. “That’s—”

“Flare,” Xanatos confirmed. “Interesting. So they _did_ hit their room instead of ours. Must’ve been a real surprise for them.”

At the same time, it was a great relief. Xanatos hadn’t exactly brought along his usual tech that he kept on hand in his home. Bit difficult to haul around a giant metal gargoyle suit everywhere a person went, after all.

 _“We have no quarrel with you,”_ replied a voice. _“Tell us where Xanatos is, and we will leave you be.”_

_“Xanatos? Do we look like we know where he is?”_

_“Flare, a moment?”_ Another voice joined the conversation – a male’s, clearly. _“So, you men have a vendetta against him. Why?”_

 _“It doesn’t concern you. Just keep yourself and your_ pets _where you belong, and you won’t have to see anything of us.”_

Xanatos winced, but he was grinning. Oh, this was going to be interesting.

_“…I see. Well, if that’s the case, I can’t say that I’m all that eager to hand him over to you, as hesitant as I am to even consider letting the man into my home.”_

“Really now, Dr. Pines, I’m hurt. Truly hurt.” Still, Xanatos wasn’t about to stop grinning. He leaned against the door to listen a little better, watching his wife out of the corner of his eye to make sure she didn’t lunge at him.

_“Don’t do this. If he has you in your pocket, we will come to your place of residence and ensure that the creatures you command do not terrorize the people of that town any longer.”_

_“Is that what you think? …what do you call yourselves?”_

_“We are the Quarrymen.”_

_“Interesting choice. Well, I’ll tell you this much: so long as you don’t come to_ my _home and go back to where_ you _came from, I can at least guarantee your safety. Follow us home, and some of us will have no choice but to give you a **proper** welcome. Flare’s punching you in the face was only a warm-up, is that clear?”_

A faint ding of an elevator, and suddenly more voices joined the hall.

_“Freeze! Hands in the air!”_

“I believe that’s my cue.”

Before Fox or Owen could say anything, Xanatos leaned against the door handle and stuck his head out of his hotel room.

“What’s going on out here?”

Xanatos’ calm, curious expression was met with a few stares and a rather troubling scene.

A short distance away, at the end of the hall, there were two men in dark uniforms with hood-like masks slammed up against the wall under a pink energy forcefield of some kind. Star was standing in front of them with Flare next to her, her tails lashing, but in a controlled manner. They weren’t hitting Star – or Dr. Pines, for that matter, who was standing next to them with his hands visible, but not up as the policeman standing next to the elevator had just demanded.

The two Quarrymen turned their heads with some visible difficulty at Xanatos’ voice, and while he couldn’t see their faces, he _could_ guess they were shocked, maybe embarrassed. Certainly angry that they’d missed their target.

“Sir, I would suggest that you stay in your room,” the policeman said as he approached the site of the commotion. Another man followed behind him, looking nervous and wearing the hotel’s uniform. “Step away from those two men, and keep your hands where we can see them.”

“Ah, good, someone noticed that a pair with malicious intent had barged in.” Dr. Pines tapped Star on the shoulder, once again being careful of her wings. Xanatos noticed they seemed to be vibrating. “Star, dear, I think you can drop it now.”

Star glanced back at Dr. Pines for a moment, her eyes ghosting over the policeman with his hand on his weapon as she did. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Grunkle Ford.”

“One of them has a hand over a weapon,” Flare said. “If she drops that field now, he could adapt to the gravity change and hit one of us.” She glanced at Xanatos as he stepped fully out of his hotel room.

“Sir, I said _stay in your room,”_ the policeman said. “It would be safer in there than being out here.”

“On the contrary, it looks like the situation is handled,” Xanatos replied. “The Quarrymen are restrained for the moment, and it doesn’t look like Dr. Pines and his companions have been harmed in the scuffle.”

The hotel employee stared at Xanatos with wide eyes, looking between the group on the other side of the hall and Xanatos. “U-uh—”

“None of you were hurt, were you?” Xanatos asked.

Dr. Pines frowned. “No, we weren’t. Although considering the _mixup,_ I’d have to say all of us are annoyed with this particular event.”

“Speak for yourself,” one of the masked men muttered. He tried to move and managed to get an arm up, but the movement was slow. It looked like he was straining against something, but wasn’t strong enough to do what he wanted. When his arm slammed into the wall behind him, Xanatos hardly flinched at the dull noise that resulted.

 _That_ was an interesting effect, and it explained why the two men hadn’t tried to run off.

“I think the two Quarrymen were attempting to attack me, officer,” Xanatos explained. “They got the right hotel _floor,_ at least, but it seems they attacked a visiting speaker for West Coast Tech instead. I would recommend taking them in for arrest and I for one intend to press charges, as I _invited_ Dr. Pines to come speak on the campus. Putting him in danger just because of a useless grudge against me?”

Xanatos tsked and shook his head as Fox peered out from his hotel room and the policeman looked at the two Quarrymen. The hotel employee was still looking between them with a startled expression.

At least, for a moment.

Xanatos saw the man’s expression harden. Before the employee could draw a weapon from somewhere on his person, and before Xanatos could react, Fox lunged out from behind Xanatos and slammed into the man, forcing him against the wall.

“Try it, and you’ll regret it,” Fox said in a low growl.

“Could you all explain what is going on here?” the policeman demanded. “I was called because of a disturbance; this looks like a disturbance.” He motioned to the pink bubble that was around the two masked men. “I’m going to need statements from you, sir…”

“Dr. Stanford Pines,” Dr. Pines replied. He waited while the policeman pulled out a notepad and started writing. “We were in our room minding our own business when _these two_ broke down the door, demanding Xanatos reveal himself. Obviously, he was _not_ in our hotel room, and they had mistaken our room for his. Flare and my niece pushed them out of our hotel room, and my niece has them currently restrained.”

Xanatos leaned over the policeman’s shoulder, just to make sure that the man was writing down what Dr. Pines had just said. He pulled back before the man could notice him staring.

“And what is it you’re _doing_ to keep them there?” the policeman asked.

Star bit her lower lip. “Um….magic?”

“No way that that’s magic.”

“Actually, it’s what we currently have it categorized as.” Dr. Pines adjusted his glasses. “I don’t know if you’ve been keeping up with the _scientific_ news as of late, but my writings on magic and cryptid creatures have been circling around recently. My niece has simply been affected by Gravity Falls.”

The policeman frowned. “Uh huh. Right, and the…half-furry next to—”

“Kitsune,” Flare corrected shortly. Her tails flared behind her, then settled. “None of this is fake.” She pulled back the long brown hair on one side of her head, revealing that there was no sign of a human ear.

The policeman and the Quarrymen stared for a long moment.

“What the hell _are_ you?” one of the Quarrymen demanded. “Creatures like you shouldn’t exist, just like the gargoyles!”

“Ex _cuse_ me?” Flare’s eyes narrowed into slits.

“Perhaps you should diffuse the situation and take the Quarrymen into custody, officer?” Xanatos suggested. “Them _and_ the mole who just tried to attack me?” He looked over at Fox, who was still holding the hotel employee against the wall.

“We _will_ succeed in taking down these different creatures from another world.” The hotel employee hissed. “And if that means making everyone _nuke_ every place these creatures live, then so be it.”

“…I’m going to need more officers up here,” the policeman said.

“Please, do get them,” Xanatos said. “And remember that my statement from earlier, officer.”

The officer looked a bit irritated as he reached for his radio, but he didn’t argue.


	4. Potential Dead End

Cleanup from the Quarrymen’s attempted attack took a little longer than Xanatos liked. The police had several questions, and it took a few calls back to various services in New York to get full answers.

Yes, the Quarrymen were a group that went around New York tearing down and destroying statues of gargoyles, among other things. _Yes,_ they’d gone quiet for a few years after the 9/11 incident, where Xanatos’ tower had been nearly hit by a plane and his own defenses had just _barely_ nudged one of the planes away with a force field bump that had sent it off elsewhere.

And yes, Dr. Pines and his guests all came from the same place and were _heavily_ magically inclined, which seemed to break a few of the policemen’s minds.

Xanatos had watched most of this with a look of amusement after giving his own statement and signing the paperwork required to make sure that the two Quarrymen – and their secret agent, the hotel employee –were not only going to be charged by _him_ for assault, but were guaranteed a prison sentence deep enough in some prison facility that it would be impossible for their own lawyers to get them out. If they _had_ any lawyers, that is.

“Well. Not what I was envisioning for an event this afternoon, but I have to say, it’s certainly made life more interesting,” Xanatos remarked to Dr. Pines as the last of the officers cleared out.

Dr. Pines, unlike Xanatos, did _not_ look amused by the events. “I should have expected that there would be some backlash to releasing even that small portion of my research. However, that people would go to such lengths to fight against something that many dream about in fantasy novels is…” He shook his head, then frowned at Xanatos. “Although, the fact that they specifically mentioned _you_ makes me wonder just how much you are in the midst of something magical already.”

“Oh?” Xanatos raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. The mention of gargoyles doesn’t entirely surprise me – I’ve only _recently_ heard of the beings that live on top of New York’s skyscrapers. But the fact that these ‘Quarrymen’ tracked _you_ here, rather than staying within the city…you’re connected to them.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question, and Dr. Pines _clearly_ didn’t mean it to be one.

“In a manner of speaking,” Xanatos replied. “I dabble a little here and there, but I don’t do quite as much research as you have. And the gargoyles and I…well, I wouldn’t exactly call us friendly. Seeing that there was physical proof that there were other places that _have_ magical creatures is fascinating to me.”

“And apparently distressing to others.”

Dr. Pines’ identical twin – who was standing in front of their suite’s door, where Flare and Star had retreated – snorted loudly. “Eh, we’ve dealt with worse than a couple bozos like that. I’m not _that_ scared of them.”

“Considering they might be able to make everyone outside of your valley scared of you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they manage to turn the rest of the country against you.”

“Not the worst odds.” Dr. Pines’ smile was a thin one, and it disappeared quickly. “But you do make a good point. If these people are that intent on snuffing out that which many others have dreamed as a potential reality, then something should be done to make them change their minds.”

“Eh.” Stanley waved a hand. “I bet the best thing that’d work on them at this point would be a few concussions. Punchin’ ‘em over the head wouldn’t hurt _us_ any.”

“If we were in Gravity Falls, that might be the case, but we’re talking about a group up in _New York.”_ Dr. Pines paused. “And weren’t you _banned_ from that state, Stanley?”

Stanley stiffened. “Ah, well—”

“Banned?” Xanatos repeated. “That must be some story.”

“…not really. Just a business venture that didn’t get off the ground too well.”

Stanley’s recovery from his surprise was quick as a whip but didn’t hit as hard. He was certainly holding things back.

“Must have been some business if it resulted in you banned from the state,” Xanatos remarked. “That might explain a couple laws that I remember seeing.”

“H-hey, not all of that was my fault.”

“Oh, I’m sure.”

Stanley looked like he was about to say something else, but then Dr. Pines held up a hand and shook his head at his twin. When Dr. Pines turned to look at Xanatos, there was a grimness in his eyes that made Xanatos think of the gargoyles.

“What is it that you _want,_ Xanatos?” Dr. Pines asked.

Xanatos blinked at the question. “Well, that certainly came out of nowhere. What makes you believe that I would want anything from you?”

“Previous experience suggests that whenever someone offers to invite you to talk at a college you were rejected from _and_ also offer assistance in properly introducing my research to the world without looking like a crackpot, they are likely looking to get something from you in return.” Dr. Pines’ eyes narrowed. “I’ll ask again. What is it that you _want?”_

Dr. Pines had definitely been hit with a few fires and had come away burned but stronger for it. That, Xanatos had been somewhat expecting, but he hadn’t expected Dr. Pines to be still skeptical even after everything that Xanatos had done to show his good will.

“I have to say, while I was expecting you to be hesitant to trust me, I didn’t think you would think I’m looking for something in return,” Xanatos remarked. “Can’t you take an act of charity as just that and nothing more?”

“I’ll do that when I’m certain that the person on the other end is completely honest with me. You didn’t mention that you knew the gargoyles when you arrived in Gravity Falls, _or_ that you were familiar with magic. But you didn’t bat an eye when you saw what some of the creatures were capable of, which has led me to believe that you were familiar with such things already.” Dr. Pines rested his hands behind his back.

Stanley was grinning. “That, and some guy who is one of the richest people in the world isn’t just gonna hand cash over because he wants to believe magic is real. Not unless you were his kid or something.”

He should have expected that the man who’d stolen Dr. Pines’ identity for thirty years and made a living ripping off tourists would be able to read between the lines.

“Nothing gets by you, does it?” Xanatos raised an eyebrow. “Why don’t we discuss this somewhere more private?”

Stanley immediately opened the door behind him and motioned for Xanatos to step into their hotel suite. “After you.”

Xanatos blinked in surprise while Dr. Pines’ expression hardened.

“Stanley.”

“What? You know they’re gonna want ta hear this, too.”

Xanatos looked between the two of them. “You would want to have this conversation in front of your niece and your guests? I have to say, that’s not quite what I was expecting.”

“They’re gonna learn about it sooner or later,” Stanley replied. “Preferably sooner.” He looked at his twin with a raised eyebrow and nodded towards the open door.

Dr. Pines sighed heavily. “I suppose so.” He stepped into the hotel suite, and Xanatos followed after him.

The suite was identical to Xanatos’ current one and the Pines’ previous one, before it had been oh-so-abruptly invaded by the Quarrymen earlier that afternoon. Already, Star and the two kitsune, both in full fox form, had made themselves comfortable on one of the beds. Star was sitting between the two kitsune, and frowned at Xanatos as Stanley closed the door behind them.

“So.” Stanley folded his arms, leaving his knuckles and the glinting metal on them clearly visible. Where he’d gotten such a well-used pair of brass knuckles, Xanatos didn’t know, and at the moment he wasn’t too keen on finding out if the man wearing them could wield them. “What do ya want with my brother?”

Xanatos took a moment to glance at the three on the bed before looking back at the older men. “Well, considering that I’ve been put on the spot, and you two aren’t keen on beating around the bush…”

He adjusted his suit jacket while the eyes of the Pines and their guests rested on him, almost burned into him. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation, but he wished he didn’t have to reveal his request so quickly.

“I’m interested in your research on magic,” Xanatos admitted. “Specifically, I’m in search of something that will grant myself, my wife, and my son immortality. Finding out that you studied magical creatures in a part of the world I’d never thought to _look_ has gotten my hopes up, especially considering that you have a very…close relationship, with the denizens of that Oregon valley.”

Xanatos looked to Flare and Infernus, and the white and red kitsune looked back at him. It was hard to read them in their animal shapes, but the frown on Star’s face was much clearer.

“It’s not worth it,” Star said. “Why would you…? That would be like giving up glitter just so I could go to some fancy college. I’m not gonna do that.”

“…What my niece is saying is that immortality comes at a great cost,” Dr. Pines explained when he saw Xanatos frown. “Of the texts that we have come across, there are few that speak of immortality spells, and even fewer that even hint at the possibility of it being given to a being with a finite lifespan. Most are warnings about how you can become immortal, but your body will still age, or that you will need to sacrifice someone close to you and live forever without them.”

Xanatos frowned. “Well…can’t say that’s what I wanted to hear. Are you _certain_ that those are the only methods you’re aware of?”

Dr. Pines’ expression turned into a look that made Xanatos immediately think of that pesky leader of the Manhattan Clan. “Yes. And I am _not_ eager to look any deeper into the matter.”

“Same here,” Stanley agreed. “I mean, sure findin’ some fountain of youth’d be nice, but if I have ta live near it for the rest a’ eternity an’ not get ta see my family again? No thanks. I like the kids, I’m not about ta up an’ vanish on ‘em like that.”

“I see.” Xanatos looked at the two kitsune. “And your friends haven’t shared any of their knowledge of the subject with you? I know kitsune can live for a _very_ long time, perhaps—”

Flare shifted, suddenly sitting upright in her human form on the bed as her tails curled around Star and draped over Infernus. Her blue eyes were harsh, and cold. “What we are is not something that can be passed on to others around us without sacrifice, and it is not a sacrifice that we intend to see done. If you want immortality so badly, you must think carefully about who you are getting that information from, and how it could change you and the people around you.”

“I have considered that, and I want to be able to live forever,” Xanatos replied. “ I want to be able to see where the future goes, and help to shape it, for the better of everyone involved.”

“Everyone meaning those connected to you, or everyone meaning the world around you?” Flare tilted her head slightly, but her expression didn’t change.

“What does it matter to you? You get to do as you like with your long lives, and take everything slowly, while everyone else has to scramble to make a mark on the world.” Xanatos nodded to Dr. Pines. “I’m sure that there will be plenty of people who will try to shoot down your work or find a way to improve on it, to make themselves the face of your discovery. If you lived forever, you wouldn’t have to worry about someone completely overthrowing you as the one who discovered the creatures in Gravity Falls and released the knowledge of them to the rest of the world.”

“As a scientist, I understand that there will be people who will do such things,” Dr. Pines replied. “And I’m quite certain that I won’t be forgotten – if my family won’t make sure of that, McGucket and the internet at large _will._ ”

“Ah. Well, that’s…certainly impressive. Is your family really large enough to do that sort of thing?”

“Flare calls us a _clan_ more often’n not,” Stanley replied. “So, yeah. We’ll be fine without you doin’ yer – whatever it is. Ya got anythin’ else ya wanna say before we go get dinner?”

Xanatos considered his options. He could ask about the demon Puck had mentioned, to be sure, but considering that it would be rather sudden…he didn’t want them to conclude that _he_ had been the one spying on them.

“Not at the moment, no,” Xanatos replied. “But I assume that you will at least listen if I come to you with any other questions about your research?”

“I may listen, but that’s no guarantee that you’ll get an answer,” Dr. Pines replied.

“That’s all I needed to know.”

Stanley opened the door and ushered Xanatos out into the hall with a glare before closing the door almost on his heels. Xanatos had to step away quickly to avoid getting his shoes scuffed.

“Well, that went rather well. It seems for now I have a foot in the door, but who knows how long _that_ will last.” Xanatos shook his head at the suite door, then went down the hall to his own and stepped inside.

“Well?” Fox was next to him immediately.

“If they know anything, they’re not telling me.” Xanatos shook his head. “Dr. Pines is quite _insistent_ that immortality is something I shouldn’t be aiming for.”

“Well then, obviously he’s never considered the idea,” Fox replied.

“Or maybe he’s thought about it enough that he decided it isn’t worth it,” Alexander spoke up from the bed. His comment earned him a frown from Fox, but he didn’t look up from his homework to return it. “Come on, Dad, just stop it already. There’s tons of other cool stuff you could do with magic if you thought in a different direction. You don’t need to put it all in ‘live forever,’ however long _that’s_ going to be.”

“You only say that because you have the option of being able to live among the fae when you become of age,” Xanatos replied. “You have the option of having a very long life.”

“Yeah. A _long_ one, not an _eternal_ one. Big difference. And besides, I like being able to live here. Puck said that they don’t have all the cool stuff that we do.”

“The same could be said for _them_ and _their_ world.”

“As is often said, sir, the grass is greener on the other side of the fence,” Owen remarked. Which got him a glare from Xanatos, but Owen didn’t seem affected by it. “But he has time to decide.”

“I’m sure.” Xanatos frowned, then shook his head. “I’m going to find something for dinner. Any preferences?”

“If you get any Chinese, I’m not touching the lo mein,” Alex replied. He was looking at his homework again, one of his textbooks open and floating next to his head.

“We’ll see.” Xanatos reached for his phone. “Maybe there are some interesting local delicacies that the WCT students like going to frequently. Let’s see….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna take a break from posting for a bit -- Pokemon HOME has recently taken my attention as a thing to get a Living Dex for, so I've been scrambling to get that done and have left my writing to stagnate as a result.
> 
> That, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX is coming out next week, so the next chapter might be postponed for a week or two. I'll have to see.


	5. Ambush!

The next morning, the Pines got up, raided the dining hall for breakfast, and were out of the room by the time that Xanatos and his family started to make their way out of the elevator. Stanford saw Xanatos’ son stepping out first, followed shortly by a man he assumed to be a butler or maybe Xanatos’ personal assistant.

“Okay, let’s get to the car an’ get outta here.” Stanley gripped the bag he’d packed tightly enough his knuckles were turning white.

“Give me a moment to get us checked out of the hotel. I’ll meet you and the others at the car.” Stanford grabbed his twin’s shoulder and frowned at him pointedly. “And _don’t_ get in the driver’s seat. I’m the one driving us home.”

Stanley rolled his eyes at his twin. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Your driving’s gonna be as bad as mine was, though.”

“No, it’s not. I, for one, do not have cataracts.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t driven my car fer that long of a drive in _years._ ” Stanley grinned. “If ya can’t handle her, we’re stoppin’ an’ I’m takin’ over again.”

“Fine.”

Stanford stepped away from his twin as Stanley retreated out the front door, and then made his way to the front counter, hotel keycards and cash on hand.

“Good morning.” The employee behind the counter offered a bright smile as Stanford put down the hotel keycards. “Checking out?”

“That would be my intent, yes.” Stanford ran a few calculations through in his head, considering the cost of the one night’s stay in that room, not to mention—

“Dr. Pines, right?”

“Yes.” Stanford nodded.

“It’s amazing how alike you and that other man looked – are you twins?”

“Indeed we are.” Stanford gave a slight smile. “Just another genetic point of interest in our family tree, nothing more than that. How much do I owe for last night?”

“Oh! You didn’t hear?”

Stanford frowned at the employee’s surprised expression. “Hear what, exactly?”

“Mr. Xanatos covered the cost of your room after the sudden attack from those terrorists. He said he didn’t want their attempt to cause trouble to ruin your stay here. You can head out anytime, or stay here a little longer if you wish.”

Stanford held up a hand. “Thank you, but my family is eager to get back to Gravity Falls, and I’d rather not stay in the area longer than I have already. I do have work to get back to.”

The employee nodded quickly. “Of course, of course. Safe travels, Dr. Pines, and I hope you’ll come back again.”

“Hm.”

Stanford shouldered his bag and started walking out of the lobby, frowning. Gravity Falls was settling back into view, and as far as _he_ was concerned, he wasn’t planning on setting foot outside of its boundaries until he had gotten more research out to the rest of the world.

The trouble wasn’t collecting the research, however. It was picking and choosing what research was _safe enough._

“Those two have made it infinitely harder by following me to this,” Stanford muttered as he reached the doors. “I’m going to have to include something on Gravity Falls kitsune now, and who knows what that will—”

Two loud explosions – one from outside, one from inside – suddenly went off with enough force to shake the building.

Stanford stopped just in front of the doors and whirled to face the one that had gone off inside. He started reaching for an object stuck in a holster on his belt when a pair of dark-armored figures rushed past, carrying a young man with red hair over one of their shoulders.

Teenager, likely around fifteen or so, and with a head wound somewhere under his hair, which meant he was most certainly stunned.

“Get back here!”

Stanford turned his head sharply and blinked as three figures rushed for the door after the two men. Xanatos, Fox, and the blond man Stanford had assumed was under their employ.

“Drop my son!” Fox yelled as she pushed the doors open.

Their _son?_

Stanford remembered the second explosion, and his own family, and barreled out the door after them. The gun he’d been reaching for was yanked out of its holster with such speed that he almost clocked Xanatos in the face before he took off across the parking lot to where Stanley’s pride and joy was parked.

El Diablo stuck out like a sore thumb among all these rounded out cars and their mostly darker color schemes. That deep red was an easily identifiable sight…

 _…_ especially since the SUV next to where the car had been originally parked was _on fire._

Stanford primed his weapon with a flick of his thumb to the fingerprint reader on the back. The gun started whining softly as it gathered the power it would need for a few shots. He barely noticed Xanatos and the other two running after the goons, but the goons were still in his line of sight – mostly because they were scrambling onto a hovering platform of some kind.

Clearly, these people had access to technology _most_ people _didn’t._

Stanford brought his weapon up as he approached the burning wreck of an SUV, only to see more of the darkly armored goons. They were looking much more familiar now – right, the two men who had attempted to break into their hotel room the day before, what were they-

The name was almost remembered, only to slide out of his head when he finally reached the carnage.

El Diablo had been pushed out of its parking spot and across the lane to the other side – Stanford could still see the pink sparkles covering it; that was certainly Star’s handiwork. Stanley was sitting in the driver’s seat, alive but frustrated. There were a pair of car doors stuck to the driver’s side, and Stanley hadn’t managed to climb out the passenger’s side yet.

Sixer, in his red kitsune form, had been thrown against another car. There was a dent in the trunk of the vehicle, and Sixer was on the ground, collapsed and hopefully _only_ stunned.

And then there were the two men in that same dark uniform, both attempting to go after Star – who was holding them back with a pink bubble like before – while Maria in her humanoid form was fighting against two more. Suddenly the SUV being on fire made more sense – Maria’s fists were covered in flames, and her combatants had to constantly jump back to avoid being hit by the fire she was throwing in their direction.

“We need to take these things out!” one of Maria’s opponents shouted to the other. “I can’t use anything, do you—”

“Just give me some time! I just need to – ya!”

Stanford had been bringing up his weapon to shoot at the armored men when one of them threw something Maria. She ducked out of the way as it came flying at her, causing it to land between Maria and Star.

“Step away from—”

Stanford was cut off as the thrown object exploded.

A blast of electricity expanded outwards, catching both Star and Maria by surprise. The two only had enough time to turn to look at where the electric buzzing sound was coming from before it collided with them.

Their twin screams made Sixer jerk his head, becoming conscious as Star and Maria both seized and collapse as a result of the zapping electricity.

Stanford quickly aimed his weapon and fired, but the laser blast missed the armored men by mere inches as they scrambled to grab the two stunned figures.

“Leave them there right this instant, or the next one goes through your head!” Stanford barked. He primed the blaster for another shot, and raised it to aim at one of the assailants.

He _would_ have fired if something hadn’t hit him in the back and sent him sprawling on the parking lot.

“You came in time! Come on, let’s grab the—”

“Are you out of your _mind?!_ We were supposed to be taking _him_ in, not any of the creatures he came with!”

Stanford started to get to his feet, gritting his teeth in frustration as he grabbed his blaster. The four armored assailants were arguing with the two on the hovering platform floating above their heads. He offered the platform itself only a quick scan – a large metal disk with engines underneath, a weak-looking railing, and a small podium that likely held the directional controls, among other things.

“Look – one of them’s his niece. She probably knows things about his work, just – just grab them and go before he shoots again!”

Stanford was on his feet. He checked his weapon and nodded. It was almost ready for another shot, and this time, he did _not_ intend to miss.

Unfortunately, his targets were going to make it difficult, since they were _holding his niece in front of them like a shield._

“Put her down now!” Stanford raised his weapon as two of the four men on the ground pushed Maria up onto the hovering platform.

“No can do, professor!” one of the men shouted back. “Not unless you’re a good enough shot to get us through these wings! These things are real, right? Wonder what would happen if you shot through them!”

Stanford gritted his teeth. He could hear Stanley shouting something from the car, but it was muffled.

“You’re gonna let us get out of here with your niece and one of your pet projects, and we’ll be in touch.”

The hoverboard lowered slightly, and the men started to scramble on, still carrying Star between themselves and Stanford in a way that made his blood boil. But he didn’t shoot.

“If you hurt either one of them, you _will_ regret it,” Stanford barked. “And you will not be in touch with us – _we_ will be in touch with _you.”_

“Big words for an old man who’s all the way down there,” one of them mocked in reply. Their armored masks made it difficult to tell who was talking at what moment. “Have fun trying to find us, old man!”

Before Stanford could change the angle of his weapon to fire at the controls, the hovering platform took off over the parking lot at a speed that made him spin on his heels in order to track their movement. It was at this same moment that he spotted Xanatos a short distance away, Fox and that other fellow holding him back with worried expressions on their faces.

It took Stanford a moment to remember that these men had made off with their son moments ago.

If his blaster went off and left a rather large scorch mark in the parking lot near his feet, Stanford didn’t notice it. He glared in the direction the assailants had gone, then turned on his heels and started for Stanley.

“Take stock of the damages, discuss what can be done to retrieve , recover, or replace what was stolen, and _move on_ ,” Stanford muttered under his breath as he reached El Diablo. He offered the driver’s side a quick glance with a deep frown – the SUV car doors were embedded in the side; it would take more than a single human to get them off.

Stanley finished scrambling across the seats and pushed – or, more accurately, _punched­_ – the passenger’s side door open. “What the _hell_ was that?! Ya should’ve taken that shot, Ford! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“Star’s wings are sensitive, and doing the amount of damage I _wanted_ to hit your attackers with would have left her unconscious as a result of the pain, not taking into account the momentary stunning affect of that grenade they tossed.” Stanford finished looking over the car, then turned and walked to where Sixer lay on the parking lot. He was finally starting to move, shaking his head and looking dazed. “At least they didn’t make off with Sixer as well, although I have to question whether or not they would have been able to handle _both_ Maria and Sixer.”

“They’re that formidable together?”

Stanford looked up sharply as Xanatos came closer, Fox and that other man on his heels. While Xanatos looked calm, the expression was strained thin. There were lines on his forehead that hadn’t been there yesterday, and his eyes moved constantly towards the direction that the kidnappers had gone. Fox was very much the same, but much more visibly, and the man with them looked like he was sweating in his suit so much that he looked like he wanted to melt.

“Very,” Stanford replied shortly. “But I’m not concerned about them fighting back alone.” His eyes narrowed. “They were with the group from before.”

“The Quarrymen, yes.” Xanatos frowned. “And it seems you’ve gotten their attention as much as I have.”

“They’re using technology they shouldn’t have access to.” Stanford rose to his feet, frowning. Sixer, now looking much more aware, sat up and glared at Xanatos with his teeth bared. The fox was clearly in a bad mood after the fight.

“You don’t think they bought stuff off McGucket, do ya?” Stanley frowned. “Could be bad news.”

“We’ll have to ask him if he’s been working on _hovercraft_ recently.”

“You’re taking this a lot more calmly than expected,” Fox remarked. “Your _niece_ just got—”

“Panic isn’t going to help us here,” Stanford cut her off with a glare that made Fox blink in surprise. “We need to keep a level head, take stock of the situation, and react accordingly. There will be time for emotional breakdowns _after_ this group learns what it means to mess with the Pines.”

“An’ if the kid doesn’t get to ‘em first, we’ll be around ta make sure they regret it,” Stanley agreed. He brandished his brass knuckle-covered fists.

“Well, glad to know that _you’re_ taking this well.” Xanatos looked down at Sixer. “What about Infernus?”

The fox snarled at Xanatos.

“I’m not the one who got them to come after you, don’t blame me.”

Sixer settled for a low warning growl as the blond man with Xanatos cleared his throat.

“Sir, I can’t maintain this for much longer,” the man said. “How much do you—”

“You might as well, Puck, something tells me they would have figured it out sooner or later.”

Stanford and Sixer both stiffened at Xanatos’ words, and the stranger’s form almost seemed to _melt,_ revealing the young but ageless, elf-looking figure hiding underneath.

“ _Puck?”_ Stanford repeated. “You don’t mean – the same Puck from the court of—"

“One and the same, one and the same.” Puck waved off the stares he was getting. “Unless you know of any _other_ Pucks, which I highly doubt. Unless you humans can get to be that coincidental with names, I have heard of that happening now and again.” Puck almost looked like he wanted to continue that train of thought, then shook his head. “Now’s not the time – we have to track down Alexander, before those nasty, nasty Quarrymen do who _knows_ what.”

Stanley slammed a fist into an open palm. “They’re gonna regret messin’ with us, that’s fer sure.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Stanford agreed. “Which means we should be _hunting them down,_ wouldn’t you agree?” He turned his pointed glare to Xanatos with enough force that it made the other man actively pause for a moment.

Sixer huffed and pawed at Stanford’s leg.

“You might as well just shift at this point,” Puck told the fox. “Unless you want to play the dumb animal for the entire time it takes us to locate your wife.”

Sixer shot Puck a look, and he raised his hands quickly in response to the glare. “U-unless you don’t feel like it, which is completely understandable!”

“Puck, can you track him?” Fox spoke up. “You mentioned something before about a magical tracker, didn’t you? The _last time_ this happened?”

“Last time they never got far enough to get their hands on him,” Puck replied, wagging a finger. “Upgrading the school’s defenses did _wonders_ for keeping out all the terrible terrible things that can plague a student, you know.” He did a little hop and settled into the air, legs crossed, and closed his eyes. He opened them a moment later. “Should I do it out in the open where everyone will see, or do you want somewhere more private? I would rather not be jumped, you know.”

“Just get going!” Fox snapped. “We’ll watch for anything that could catch you by surprise, so just – just do what you should be doing to get my son back!”

“Eep!” Puck drifted away a short distance and started chanting something under his breath that sounded vaguely like Latin.

Stanford almost wanted to listen to figure out what this trickster member of Oberon’s court was actually _saying,_ but there were other things to think about.

“Stanley, what did you think of the tech they were carrying?” Stanford asked.

“It don’ look like McGucket’s,” Stanley replied with a frown. “Probably made in-house or somethin’.”

“That does _very little_ to make me feel better about the situation,” Stanford said flatly.

“Well, yeah, considerin’ they won’t be usin’ _giant killer robots if we come their way,_ it makes me feel _much_ better _.”_

“McGucket makes _what?”_ Fox’s eyes widened. “Does he take commissions?”

“Not from you if I have anything to say about it,” Stanford muttered. Sixer snorted in agreement. He raised his voice as Fox frowned. “They’re meant for end-of-the-world scenarios. Such as eldritch beings walking out of the sea, or a meteorite crashing to earth.”

“Or a demon trying to break its way into our world,” Xanatos asked. He took a slight step back when he was suddenly met with sharp glares. “Puck told us something about it. Apparently, he wasn’t very good with parties and was banned from any held by Oberon.”

Sixer started making a loud snuffling noise. It took Stanford a moment to realize the kitsune was laughing in his own way.

“I take it you know exactly why. Curious.” Xanatos raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’ve met this demon?”

Sixer stopped snort-laughing.

“Listen, _pal,_ you’re gettin’ a bit too nosy about that when we’re talkin’ about these Quarry people.” Stanley raised a fist.

“I’m simply finding a way to pass the time while Puck finishes what he needs to,” Xanatos replied. “Besides, considering my connections, this is something potentially important for me to know.”

Stanford saw Sixer’s tails flick. He managed to step away a moment before the kitsune suddenly shifted upwards, making their little group feel suddenly crowded.

Now that Stanford and Sixer were standing next to each other, it was _very_ clear they were just as identical as Stanford and Stanley were, except for the obvious differences. Sixer still had his fox ears and seven tails, and his fingernails, despite being short, were _clearly_ claw-like. His clothes were identical to Stanford’s except that he did not wear a lab coat, and the way he stood made him look like a rod had been glued to his spine.

Fox jumped back as Sixer’s slit-pupil glare moved between her and Xanatos, who certainly looked surprised at the sudden shift.

“My _God,”_ Xanatos said.

“I should hope for your sake you are not referring to the founder of your little organization,” Sixer said shortly. “Have you shaken his hand in the act of a deal – or anyone _claiming_ they represented him?”

His clipped, serious voice made Xanatos and Fox exchange looks.

“I have shaken hands in _greeting,_ and after a few agreements were reached on the physical world, but only with fellow members and never with someone higher up on such subjects,” Xanatos replied. “I take it you consider that a good thing.”

“If it means you haven’t sold your soul to a now-dead demon, then yes.”

“David…” Fox looked at her husband with a frown. “I know we promised to stay out of each other’s business to a degree, but this is starting to become concerning.”

“I haven’t summoned any demons and I haven’t made any deals with them,” Xanatos replied evenly. “Relax. Just because I’m involved in the Illuminati doesn’t mean I know what the founder looks like.” He paused and looked at Stanford. “Although, you know the answer to that.”

“Just because we do doesn’t mean we’re gonna talk about it,” Stanley spoke up. “Hey, pointy ears! Ya finished chantin’ five seconds ago, ya find them?”

“Oh!” Puck yelped as the group turned their attention to him. “Yes, yes I managed to find him – tried to talk to him, actually, but the reception was _terrible._ Being wrapped in irons and having a head injury can do that to magical telepathy. Awful, awful humans, these people are, keeping me from my pupil!”

“You didn’t get a glimpse of—”

“Alas, no, my spell doesn’t work well enough to see everyone except for my target, _but_ I have no doubt they are somewhere nearby.” Puck grinned widely and raised a hand. “I quite look forward to seeing what happens when we reach their not-so-hidden base. I could teleport us there right now, in fact.”

“And how might _that_ screw us over?” Fox replied.

“Agreed. We need a proper plan, and _then_ you can teleport us in,” Xanatos said. “Not to mention weaponry. Damn me for leaving all my toys at home, they would have seen some good use here.”

“I don’t think that will be entirely necessary.”

Sixer was now on the receiving end of the stares.

Stanford sighed heavily. “And what, exactly, do _you_ have in mind?”

“Yes, do tell, chaos-touched.” Puck leaned forward, head resting in his hands.

Sixer shot Puck a frown, but the floating ageless elf hardly batted an eye at the glare. “They are likely going to be expecting us to attack the front door with everything we have. Who said we have to take a _conventional_ entrance, when I am quite certain my wife is causing their lives more than enough trouble already?”

“Ooh!” Puck clapped his hands together. “See, this is the kind of chaos I like to cause! None of this eldritch horror that the other fellow liked so much – did you pick it up from—”

“My wife is a far better influence.” Sixer’s frown deepened. “Just because I am ‘chaos-touched’ does not mean that _everything_ about me came from _him.”_

“Fair enough, fair enough. So! Do you want to dig in from underground and make their floors collapse from underneath? Bombard their roof? Or –“

“Actually, I was thinking of locating the back door,” Sixer replied casually.

Puck stared at Sixer, jaw open as he’d been caught mid-sentence.

“The _back_ door?” Xanatos frowned. “And how are we going to locate that, exactly, when we don’t even know where in the city they are?”

“We’ll know when we get there,” Sixer replied. “After that, it’s simply a matter of getting in, finding my wife and niece and your son, and getting out. I’m sure you have some weapons that will give you momentary defense.”

“Maria really did bring out this side of you,” Stanford said flatly.

“You say that like you don’t believe it.”

“Oh, I believe it. It’s just that it’s _difficult_ to imagine someone as level-headed as Maria suddenly deciding to start a prank war...although, she does nudge the nieces into doing it every April Fool’s.”

Sixer snorted and was about to respond when Puck stopped mentally buffering.

“It’s _brilliant!”_ Puck threw his hands in the air and spun backwards a full rotation. “The back door! They won’t suspect a thing, when all they’re expecting is a pair of old men and a feral fox! You are outdoing yourself, my foxy friend! Let’s go find that back door!” He raised a hand.

“Puck wai—”

Whether it was going to be fortunate or not, Xanatos was cut off by the sound of Puck snapping his fingers, and in a bright flash of light, the hotel parking lot suddenly had fewer people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are currently two chapters behind me, so I'm gonna keep with the every-other-week posting until I can get more of a buffer.


	6. Not Hampered by Iron

To say that Alex was having a bad day was an understatement of the decade.

First, the hotel’s breakfast buffet had run out of almost everything, and then the Quarrymen had caught them all by surprise. Now he was sitting in some giant metal tank with holes carved high up the sides for windows. Oh, and he had a bandage wrapped around his head because someone had whacked him with more force than needed to stun.

“If you guys are trying to use me as ransom bait, Dad’s not going to have an issue with the money,” Alex called over to the cell entrance. It was wide open, but the fact that there was a Quarryman standing right in front of it meant Alex wasn’t going to be making a break for it anytime soon.

“Shut up,” the Quarryman replied. “You’ll find out what we need you for soon enough.”

Alex snorted and adjusted how he was sitting on the creaky mattress. His arms were tied together behind him by an iron-link chain that pinched his wrists, and shifting them around did nothing to get that to stop.

At least he was coherent now, unlike the other two the Quarrymen had dragged in.

He didn’t see where the girl had been taken, but the currently unconscious kitsune had been put in the same cell with him. Except she was not only chained in iron, but she was also propped up in a large iron tub half-full of water.

Did they think it was going to stop her from using magic or something?

Alex winced as his head throbbed. Thinking wasn’t doing him any good at the moment, especially about his fellow prisoners. But he was going to need to find a way out of this mess before they did who _knew_ what.

He started working at the chains again. Maybe he could do that trick they talked about in the movies, where you dislocated your thumb and—

The kitsune grunted, cutting off Alex’s train of thought.

He looked over as Flare shook her head, then looked up and started looking around the cell. Her gaze was hazy only for her initial sweep of the area.

“What in—well.” Flare looked down at the chains and the tub of water she was sitting in. “Not the worst thing I’ve woken up to.” She huffed and looked at Alex again. She frowned. “How long have I been out?”

Alex shrugged. “I couldn’t tell you – I was kinda…out of it for a while, too.” He shrugged one shoulder, trying to motion to the bandage around his head.

Flare’s eyes narrowed. “If this is how they treat their own kind, I would hate to see what they intend with me or m – or Star.”

The slip of the tongue got an odd look from Alex.

“Hey! No talking in there!” The Quarryman at the open door turned around and started to raise a weapon out of its belt holster. “I will use deadly force if you try anything funny.”

Flare fixed the man with a glare that caused their captor to stiffen up. “And _I_ will make sure that you _regret_ doing _anything_ to Star. If you so much as _attempt_ to cause harm to her, mental trauma or otherwise, you will find the rest of your life to be not only miserable, but a complete and utter _failure_ wherever you turn. Have I made myself clear?”

She bared her teeth at the Quarryman in a snarl, which made the man almost take a step back. He was able to recover himself, however.

“You can try all you like from in there, but you’re surrounded by iron _and_ you can’t do anything fiery while you’re soaking in water,” the Quarryman said. “Curse me all you like, you’re not gonna get anything done in there.”

A growl came from Flare for a moment, but she cut it off with a snort and pulled back, frowning. “We’ll see.”

The Quarryman snorted and turned around again. “Hey, go get her – the fox-girl’s awake.”

“ _Woman,”_ Flare corrected. “If this is your way of saying I look young for my age I am _not_ taking that as a compliment.”

The spluttering sound that came from the Quarryman made Alex grin.

“You’d think he’d know better than to make someone who knows how to do magic mad,” Alex remarked. “Especially after seeing what happens when _Goliath_ gets mad.”

“Keep your mouth shut, kid!” the Quarryman glanced over his shoulder at Alex. “Or else I’m gonna have to shut it for you.”

“Dad’s probably mad enough that you gave me a possible concussion,” Alex snapped. “Do you want to see what happens if he manages to get his tech over here?”

Alex saw Flare frown and tilt her head slightly, but he didn’t have to figure out why.

“We’re prepared for whatever David Xanatos tries to do,” the Quarryman replied shortly. “Don’t try to make us scared of him, we have him _exactly_ where we want him.”

Flare’s eyes widened sharply.

“That’s what you think,” Alex replied.

“Why you—”

The Quarryman started to turn, pulling his gun out of its holster as he did, when another figure grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away from the open door.

The blond woman who stepped into the chamber was wearing a business suit of all things, and while not visible armed, Alex couldn’t help but stiffen defensively when she stepped inside.

Flare tilted her head slightly, looking at the woman down her nose as her tails moved slowly in the water tank.

The woman looked between the two of them, then back at the guard. “Why is the boy in _here_ with that _thing_ you dragged in?”

“He can use magic, do you really want us to—”

“Then _keep him sedated_ like you’re watching the other one! And why don’t you have that thing under while I’m at it?”

“…we couldn’t get an IV through her skin to administer the sedative, ma’am. We couldn’t monitor her vitals to—”

“I don’t care, get someone in here to knock them both out _now.”_

“Are you certain you want to risk that, with his head injury?” Flare asked casually. “It’s proven science that letting someone sleep with a bump like that, so soon after the incident, that there could be brain damage.”

“They practically broke my skull, I wouldn’t be surprised if there is brain damage _already,”_ Alex muttered.

The woman whirled sharply. “Who gave you permission to talk, fox?”

“My God-given ability,” Flare replied with a sly grin.

Alex failed to hold back a laugh at the look on their captor’s face.

Flare’s smile dropped after a moment. “You are going to tell me where you are holding Star, or else things will turn out very badly for you.”

“What makes you think that they will be any worse than your situation?” the woman replied. “You can’t do anything; you’re surrounded by iron.”

“For now.”

The woman looked at Flare with an odd expression, shook her head. “We intended to capture Dr. Pines in order to get access to his research. You _will_ tell us how much it is that you know, and then we will go and demand answers from his niece.”

“And if I don’t?” Flare replied.

“Then we will see what her wings are made of.”

The silence that followed made a chill run down Alex’s spine, despite the fact that it was strangely warm. He didn’t need to be looking at Flare to know what the kitsune thought of that, but he was looking anyway.

The cold expression on Flare’s face could freeze someone solid.

“You harm her in any manner, and you will regret it,” Flare said. “Dr. Pines and his clan will not stand by while you harm an innocent girl who has _nothing to do with you_.”

“Clan?” the woman repeated. “Interesting choice of words. But that is of no consequence; if he wants his so-called niece back alive, he is going to have to cooperate. And the same goes for you. Monsters such as you and the other creatures that live in that little valley are messing up a perfectly normal world with perfectly normal people. None of you should be here.”

“Perfectly normal?” Flare laughed, but it was short, and hardly happy. “Is that what you think? Are you going to turn into the Ku Klux Klan when you’re done trying to get rid of anything magical? Will you turn to the genetic defects next, the children who can’t think the way you want, the people who—”

“We only exist to remove you _monsters_ from this plane of existence,” the woman hissed back. “Once that’s been accomplished, I’m sure everything will be dissolved peacefully.”

“Are you certain of that?” Flare’s voice was almost growling. “I find it more than like that you have a number of people in your ranks who could go on a murder spree when you’re done.”

Their captor gave Flare a sour look. “All we need is a little DNA from you and Dr. Pines’ _supposed_ niece, as well as your true names, and you’ll be out of here for good. Banished back to whatever world you came from.”

Alex shifted forward, but the chains held him back. “Are you _insane?_ You can’t banish someone with a power level like _her’s!_ ” He looked at Flare. “A kitsune with nine tails is supposed to be really up there – you’ll kill yourself and anyone helping you just doing her alone! Besides, you people have been against magic for _years,_ what makes you think you can _banish_ someone?”

“Hm.” Flare frowned. Her white fox ears flicked back slightly. “Indeed.”

For a moment, it looked to Alex like there might be steam rising up around Flare, but it was hard to tell if it was really there or not.

“My motto is to know my enemy,” the woman replied. “And while you are an unexpected surprise, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” She walked over to Flare and looked down at her with a deep frown. “What is your _name?”_

Flare tilted her head, still looking down her nose at this woman while still looking up at her – somehow. Alex found it impressive and _terrifying._ “I am called Fire Storm by those who irk me greatly, and when they want my _head._ You will get no other names from me.”

“Other? You have more than one?”

“Concerning the names that others call me.” Flare shrugged one shoulder. “Yes. But my real name is one that I will not tell you. You haven’t _earned_ the right, and I doubt that you ever will.”

Alex couldn’t help but stare. Flare could have decided to keep her mouth shut, keep the woman guessing and demanding, but instead she’d just thrown the woman a bone. A name, but not her _name_.

He was still staring as their captor turned to look at him.

“Alexander Xanatos,” the woman said. “I’ve heard your name more than enough to remember it.” She walked over to his creaky mattress and looked down at him as he frowned up at her. “You’ve been exposed to magic, and those _creatures_ we’ve heard about.” Her nose wrinkled, like she’d smelled something disgusting. “I should think it would be better if you _stopped.”_

“You’re not my mother, _or_ my grandparents,” Alex replied. “Why the hell should I listen to some old hag who doesn’t know what she’s talking about?”

The woman’s shoulders stiffened.

“Hags can be magical; this one is _terribly_ mundane,” Flare remarked casually. “Although she likely has the _personality_ of one. What do you think?”

“Better to call her a hag than a witch.”

“You two will keep quiet or I will make sure that the little fairy girl gets more than a few small _samples_ removed from her wings,” the woman snapped.

That earned her silence.

Alex stared at the woman in shock, but Flare’s expression went from calm and a little amused to completely devoid of emotion. When he glanced at her, it was almost like staring into the eyes of some ice monster wearing something else’s skin.

The steam that was much more visible made it harder to see her as an ice spirit, however.

“Good.” Their captor hadn’t noticed the steam just yet. “Now, I am going to set something up, and we are going to send a message to Dr. Pines. If he wants to keep us out of Gravity Falls, he will give us the information he needs, and we’ll leave him alone.”

Flare made a noise that made Alex think first of a steam engine hissing. “He will _not.”_

“When his niece is on the line, I think he—what in—”

Now their captor noticed the steam. It was settling in thick and fast, making the entire room muggy and foggy. Flare was still clearly visible, however, especially when she rose to her feet, damp but dry, and ripped the chains off her wrists.

The sound of chain links cracking and scattering across the cement floor brought a shout from the obscured and only exit from the cell. “Ma’am, what’s going on in there?!”

“Get the girl and go!” the woman shouted back. “We need to—”

Flare was on top of the woman before she could say anything else, nine tails raised in an attacking stance.

Alex winced at the sound of their captor hitting the metal wall next to him.

“Apparently, it’s time to make your life _miserable,”_ Flare hissed. Fire crackled up and down her tails, lighting up their space now that the steam was making things hard to see. Not to mention _hot._

If this was what a sauna was supposed to be like, Alex didn’t ever want to set foot in one after this. He started pulling at his chains again, but the heat didn’t make them any more cooperative.

“Hold still.”

Alex looked up as one of Flare’s tails moved closer, crackling with flames. “Wh-what are you—”

“Hold still.”

Alex ducked his head and closed his eyes tightly, not wanting to look at the fire that was gathering at the tip of Flare’s tail. Just what was that kitsune—

A blast of heat ran down his back and collided with his hands. Or, more accurately, the chains that kept his arms bound together. In seconds, it was over, and his arms were free to move.

He brought them forward quickly, shaking off the remains of the chains. No melted metal was sticking to his arms, which was odd. Just _what_ had Flare done?

“Dr. Pines has been considered weird and strange for his entire life,” Flare told their former captor. “Do not think he will stand by and let you _take_ those he sees as _family._ ” She punched a burning fist into the wall next to the woman’s head, leaving a slightly melted dent in the wall.

The smell of burning hair filled the air, and the woman shrieked as she tried to pull her head away, but wasn’t able to get far with Flare pinning her in place.

“Do _not_ do anything foolish,” Flare hissed. “Where is Star?”

Alex rose to his feet. The room spun for a moment. “It’s _really_ hot in here.”

“Then get out. No one is stopping you.”

“Except for maybe the guard with a gun at the door.”

Flare paused.

And then the steam started to clear up. The temperature dropped – not quickly, but at a decent enough rate that it let Alex see more of the cell and less of the muggy fog that had settled in.

“Whatever you want to do, you will not get away with it,” hissed the woman.

Alex could see now that Flare had burned away some of her blond hair. Portions of it were still smoldering in a half-circle around Flare’s fist.

“We’ll see about that.” Flare pulled her hand back, then grabbed the woman with both hands and tossed her onto the creaky mattress Alex had been sitting on a moment ago.

Alex watched all this with a dumbfounded expression. Maybe it was the head injury, maybe it was all the magic that Flare was using in a room that was _clearly_ made of iron, but there was just something about the situation that was amazing to watch.

There was a sizzling sound as the blond woman landed on the creaky mattress.

Flare was already walking towards the guard when the woman started screaming, scrambling off the mattress like a madwoman. Alex found himself pushed aside as she ran for the now empty water tank, melted metal burning through her business suit.

“Alexander, was it?”

Alex turned as Flare reached the guard, who was shakily pointing his gun-looking weapon at her.

“It would be better if we left and you received some proper medical attention, yes?” A fireball materialized in Flare’s open hand.

“S-sure.” Alex started to move over to the exit.

“D-don’t you—”

The Quarryman was suddenly hit in the face – or rather, his mask – by a fireball. It was followed shortly by Flare lunging at him with burning hands and forcing him to drop his weapon as she grabbed it. The heated metal got a scream of pain from him.

“C-can you teach me to do that?”

Flare finished pushing the Quarryman aside and stepped out as the blond woman behind them finally stopped screaming. Whether she’d managed to get the burning metal off her or had fallen unconscious, Flare didn’t seem interested in finding out.

“We’ll see.” She stepped out of the iron room and shut the open door behind them. “Hm.”

“What is it?” Alex stepped out after her. The temperature was still dropping slowly, he noticed, but it wasn’t fast enough to make him shiver.

“If you’ve got magic on you, I’m assuming it’s affected by how much iron there is in an area?”

“…something like that.”

“You’ll have to rely on myself and Star to get us out of here, then unless someone happens to break in.” Flare motioned to the metal hallway they were met with. “Stay close.”

Alex wasn’t about to argue with a strong magic user like this kitsune, much less someone who had managed to leave two people in their cell.

He had a lot of questions.

“How can you use your powers when you were chained by armor?” Alex asked.

“My abilities are restricted by other things.” Flare motioned for Alex to follow her, and she started down the hall. “If you have any other questions, hold them back until we can find—”

An alarm started sounding as red lights went off in the hall.

_“Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”_

Alex winced at the loud voice. “What in—”

“Sounds like we’ve got to get moving.” Flare lit up one hand, fire crackling up her tails. “Stay close, kid. Maybe you’ll get to see what happens when my husband and I get serious.”

The grin that was on Flare’s face made a chill run down Alex’s spine.

The grin dropped. “Stay close. Grab a tail if you must, but _don’t get separated._ I’m assuming this place is like a maze and I’d rather not lose a kid to a bunch of magic-racist morons.”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good.” Flare turned and started down the hall in one direction. Alex quickly fell into step not too far behind her. “Let’s find my niece and get out before _they_ do something they will come to regret.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You'd think all this chaos would mean I could stay at home and write more. Well, I'm still at home, but I'm also working on my job. So...not as much writing time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still going, but still having some difficulty in finding time/inspiration to get more chapters written. How ironic that a pandemic that makes people stay at home doesn't give me any more time to do the things that I like doing, eh?
> 
> There's some mentions about why Sixer (aka the kitsune-Ford) and Stanford Pines happen to be in the same reality, but they don't go into much detail here because it isn't needed...and they don't need Xanatos to know more than they want him to know. Acknowledging that Cipher is dead is kinda important, but how he died is not.

Saying that Puck was antsy was an understatement.

He’d wanted to charge in as soon as he’d teleported them to the house that the Quarrymen had been hiding in, but _no,_ the Pineses and the Xanatoses _had_ to sit for a while and come up with a plan of attack.

It was making him start to wonder if that kitsune fellow really was as crafty and chaos-touched as he appeared to be. There hadn’t been so much as a _hint_ of that since they’d arrived and hunkered down in some bushes in the backyard! It wasn’t _fair!_

Although, granted, considering where at least _some_ of that chaos had likely come from, Puck couldn’t blame the fellow for not wanting to let his instincts run _completely_ buck wild.

“—just need to confirm where they’re coming in and out from,” Dr. Pines was saying. “That’s the last thing we need, and they’re not exactly making it _easy.”_

“Considering we know about them already, I’m not surprised.” Fox huffed. “They’ve been forced into the shadows because of everything that we _and_ the gargoyles have done, and most people don’t take to them too well.”

“I should hope not,” Sixer muttered. His tails were twitching as his ears flicked and turned in every direction. If Puck wasn’t so worried over Alex’s safety – not to mention what _Daddykins_ would do if he ever got wind of this – he might have just sat and watched for a while. There was something...almost _mesmerizing_ about the movement.

“I’ve already told you everything I can, _including_ how much iron there is in this place,” Puck said. “Really, you people should pick places that have less iron to live in – I would be able to find Alex no problem otherwise!”

“You never had a problem in New York,” Xanatos remarked.

“Do I look like I want to quarrel over whether or not I can and whether or not it is _thematically appropriate_ right at this moment?” Puck frowned, and didn’t give Xanatos enough time to respond. “I didn’t think so. Hmph. If only there wasn’t so much iron in the ground I might actually be _helpful.”_

“Yeah, well, that kinda happens when a buncha morons find an’ old Cold War _bunker_ beneath a house,” Stanley muttered. “You nerds gonna let us in on where the entrance is or not? Time’s of the essence here, ya know.”

“I’m working on it,” Dr. Pines replied. He waved around the device he was holding. “Just because I can find _my_ bunker’s hidden entrance doesn’t mean I can do that with _every_ underground facility.”

“If my nephew was here, we would have it by now,” Sixer said patiently. “But we don’t. So be patient.”

“ _Your_ nephew?” Xanatos turned his head quickly.

Stanley glowered at the man, and Puck _almost_ expected them to break out into a fight right there on the back lawn of this house.

“So, there are more than just you two kitsune living in Gravity Falls,” Xanatos continued. “I’d wondered if that was the case or not.”

“Did I say that my nephew as a kitsune?” Sixer tilted his head slightly. “Stanford, the frequency changed.”

“Thanks. We must be closer to the entrance than I originally suspected.” Dr. Pines held the little remote-looking device out towards a set of bushes and almost winced at the screech that came out. “ _There_ it is.”

“Have you finally located the entrance or did you dig up old gold with that metal detector?” Fox demanded.

“We’re looking for a Cold War-era bunker that was more than likely built in a panic by someone who had just enough money to do so,” Dr. Pines replied. “If you consider locating the entrance to be gold, then, well –”

He walked over to the clump of bushes and grabbed the base of one. With a swift yank, it was pulled up and back, exposing a square hole in the ground under a metal hatch with the bush attached as a handle.

“—then yes, I would say I’ve struck gold.” Dr. Pines motioned for them to move. “Time is of the essence. If they have a working security system, they likely already know we’re here.”

“In that case, let’s find my son and your wife before they do anything drastic.” Xanatos looked at Sixer.

Sixer met Xanatos’ gaze for less than a second, and was down the ladder into the bunker before anyone could blink.

“Ooh, he’s quite serious.” Puck put a hand to his chin in thought. “I have to wonder what’s going through his mind – maybe something quite dreadful for the first person he meets?” He rubbed his hands together. “That is something I don’t want to miss!”

“Puck!”

Puck ignored Xanatos – not shocking at all, really, since he wasn’t Owen at the moment – and quickly climbed down the ladder after Sixer. He didn’t want the fox getting far if he could help it. That chaos-touched kitsune was going to be _so much fun_ to watch, and maybe even work with!

Puck chuckled to himself. “Oh, I am so looking forward to this.”

“You are looking forward to being in a metal box where you will at the very least be hindered in your magic,” Xanatos said from above as he followed Puck down.

“Oh, no, not that! I’m about to learn something that Daddykins doesn’t know about!” Puck frowned. “Not yet, anyway.”

He reached the bottom mere seconds after Sixer, but the fox was already a fair distance down the corridor. He was moving quickly, but not running. It gave Puck time to catch up.

At the same time, alarms started going off as red flashing lights made themselves known on the walls.

_“Intruder alert! Intruder alert!”_

“Well, that’s not the kind of welcoming I was expecting,” Puck huffed.

“It’s fine,” Sixer replied shortly. He didn’t even look back as Puck caught up, followed by Xanatos, Fox, and the two old men who smelled like they’d stuck their fingers in a few magic things in their lifetime. There was some chaos there, too, but not as much as there was over Sixer.

It didn’t take them long to reach the end of the corridor. It turned into a large room with bits and bobs scattered all over the place, with another corridor leading off in a different direction. Six people in Quarrymen hoods stopped whatever boring thing it was they were doing and stared as Sixer stepped in.

The first thing that seemed to catch Sixer’s attention were the three figures standing next to a rolling cart, on which was a certain pre-teen girl, lying on her belly and with a breathing mask over her face. Star looked to be out cold.

“Holy crap,” one of the Quarrymen muttered. “How did they—"

“Release her,” Sixer said in a low growl. “ _Now.”_

Puck saw the fire crackling in Sixer’s tails and thought it best to keep his distance. He bounced back a couple feet as Xanatos and the others came to a stop. “Amazing, isn’t it? We are surrounded by iron and lead and what have you and he can tap in without any sign of a hindrance.”

“How in the—”

Sixer lunged for the nearest Quarryman and knocked the man to the floor before he could pull out his weapon. Puck danced to one side on light feet as Xanatos and the others barreled through, separating and going after the others.

And then the circular platform the unconscious fairy girl was on lit up in a bright flash that overtook the room for a moment. When it faded, she, the cart she was strapped to, and two of the Quarrymen were gone.

Which left the three still standing scrambling for cover.

Puck simply stood back and watched with delight as Stanley and Dr. Pines took down two of them with a series of punches that almost made _him_ wince. “For old men, you two certainly know what you’re doing! Tell me – did you learn those moves on a mountain from some all-knowing oracle? Or was it something you picked up over the years?”

Xanatos ducked under a laser shot from the last of the Quarrymen before he and Fox rushed forward and slammed him into the metal wall. The collision was enough to stun him. “They may be good, but it doesn’t seem like we were fast enough to reach those two in particular. Let me see if that teleporter led anywhere we can follow.”

“You’d better,” Sixer growled back. “They may have already made off with—”

“Sixer!”

Sixer’s head turned sharply, and Puck followed his gaze to the other corridor that led out of this central room of sorts. The fox had mere seconds to rise from where he was sitting on his quarry before his nine-tailed wife reached him.

Puck saw the person who was clinging to one of her tails, and he grinned immediately. “My dear pupil! It’s good to see you’re not dead.” He bounced over as Fox looked up from looting the unconscious body of the fellow she’d tackled.

“Yeah, well, I feel like I should be.” Alex pointed at the bandage on his head. “Think we can get out of here and you can take care of this? I’m getting a terrible headache from everything.”

“But of course!” Puck promptly tucked himself under one of Alex’s arms and started moving back towards the ladder they’d climbed down from. “You boys have fun figuring out how that thing over there works. If you find out if it’s working, do let me know!” He looked back with a grin. “I would _love_ to see what happens when the Quarrymen find out why you don’t anger chaos-touched folk!”

Sixer’s wife – Flare, wasn’t it? – looked over at Puck sharply as he turned his head and led Alex the rest of the way.

“Chaos-touched?” Alex repeated.

“Let’s get out of this iron prison first,” Puck replied, voice low. “You are going to want to be thinking straight for this.”

Getting up the ladder was no problem, with Puck pushing and Alex climbing. Apparently, he hadn’t been hit hard _enough_ in the head that climbing the ladder wasn’t a problem.

The shouts of an argument were starting up behind them, though. As much as Puck wanted to turn back and watch the chaos…well, he _did_ have an obligation to make sure that Alex Xanatos, grandson of Oberon, was safe. He couldn’t heal the boy _and_ stay in that iron prison at the same time.

The thought made Puck huff and mutter to himself a string of complaints about human buildings as they finally reached the backyard the bunker had been built in. He pulled himself up onto the grass and immediately started floating again.

“All right. I want you to try to pay attention, because next time I might not be around when someone needs healing.”

“Turning this into a magic lesson? Really?”

“Better safe than sorry. You _are_ technically safe now, but I want to make sure I can get away with this.” Puck rolled up his colorful sleeves and rubbed his hands together. “You should be sitting for this, dear boy. Can’t have you fall over and hit your head again, you know!”

Alex huffed, but he did as Puck asked.

Puck put his hands on either side of Alex’s head and chanted a few quiet words. A quick healing spell, something simple and easy. Putting a great deal of power into it wasn’t a problem, of course, but it would be something easy for Alex to remember later.

The teen winced, and Puck pulled his hands away. “That…hurt more than I expected.”

“And what did you expect? These spells use your energy to heal your body more than it does the caster’s.” Puck turned upside down. “It’s a nice little lesson in learning to _avoid getting yourself hurt.”_

“Yeah, well, not like any of us were expecting the breakfast buffet to explode,” Alex replied. He reached up and pulled the bandage off his head, revealing that the wound had indeed fixed itself. “I hope Dad brought food, because I’m _starving.”_

“Something tells me food will have to wait, if Dr. Pines’ little niece is to have any say in the matter.” Puck’s smile – his relief that Alex wasn’t going to be in any danger in the near future – dropped quickly. “Did you see Flare do anything interesting, Alex?”

“She can use her magic even when chained in iron,” Alex replied. “That was pretty interesting. I didn’t think that _anyone_ capable of magic could be able to handle the amount of concentrated iron that was in there. New York isn’t as much of a problem because the metal consistency is different, but—”

“Yes, yes, we’ve had that discussion multiple times.” Puck waved away Alex’s words. “I haven’t gotten a good sense for her yet, but I believe that unlike her hubby, she isn’t chaos-touched. Which, of course, is making me wonder a good deal about the Pines family as a whole.”

“What _is_ chaos-touched?” Alex frowned. “Is that like being fae-touched?”

“It’s what happens when that nasty demon I mentioned before gets his hands on you.” Puck looked back at the bunker’s entrance. No one was coming up yet, from what he could hear. “And it _seems_ that old Infernus down there knows _quite a bit_ about the demon.”

“But he’s dead, right?”

“Supposedly. Hopefully.” Puck tapped his chin, frowning. “I would like to learn more from them, but I don’t think they’re keen on talking. Especially since the Quarrymen just took off with the fairy girl.”

“Not unless Dad tries to weasel the information out.” Alex paused. “Wait. They _took off?”_

“To New York, it looks like.”

Puck spun in the air so fast he twirled twice as Flare climbed up from the bunker.

“The teleporter was a prototype; it seems it was designed for a one-time use.” The nine-tailed kitsune huffed, her white tails flicking in every direction as she stepped away from the entrance. “Which _means_ we can’t follow them directly.”

“New York, you say?” Puck rubbed his hands together, a grin crossing his face as the others came up, lugging the unconscious forms of the Quarrymen. “This could be _fun._ The gargoyles, I’m sure, would _love_ to have an excuse to go hunting tonight!”

“Perhaps, if we can convince even some of them to stop house hunting for a while,” Xanatos replied. “Fox, dear, have you—”

“I’ve already sent the police a message; they should be coming by later to collect these fools.” Fox kicked a woman in the side. How strange that her business suit had been burned through in places. “Alex, are you all right?”

“I’m fi—” Alex was cut off as Fox suddenly grabbed him in a hug. “Ah! Mom, I’m fine! Leggo! Puck made sure my head isn’t a problem, so get off!”

Oh, yes. Right.

Puck cleared his throat and landed on the grass before that horrible, horrible skinsuit that was Owen settled back into place. No more magic, just a boring, boring man who knew a lot more about magic things than a human was _supposed_ to know.

Alex finally got his mother off him and made sure there was some distance between them. “You don’t need to be so clingy.”

“I thought you were going to be gravely injured the next time I saw you,” Fox replied. “You can’t blame me for being concerned.”

Alex grumbled something under his breath that made Xanatos shake his head slightly.

“Reunions are nice n’ all, but we gotta get Star back,” Stanley spoke up. “I dunno about you, but I’m not about ta let her be stuck there fer who knows how long.”

“They were talking about attempting to get Dr. Pines’ research and getting us off this world,” Flare spoke up. “We’re going to have to move quickly to prevent them from sending Star who _knows_ where.”

“What do you mean by that?” Xanatos raised an eyebrow.

The Pines as a whole were clearly reluctant to answer. Dr. Pines and Sixer both frowned, Stanley was outright scowling, and the concerned expression that settled on Flare’s face was quickly directed at her husband. Their expressions shifted greatly, almost as though they were having a private, unheard conversation.

The looks on their faces – and the way that Sixer looked _so similar_ to Dr. Pines – almost made Owen think of something, but they beat him to it.

“Star is _my_ niece, moreso than she is Stanford’s,” Sixer said with grim reluctance. “We’re counterparts.”

“Counterparts?” Xanatos tapped his chin. “You do look rather similar. I take it you are from an alternate timeline of some kind?”

“Dimension,” Flare corrected.

“A world that _no longer exists,”_ Sixer said.

Owen’s eyes widened. “Oh, dear.”

Fox started to look concerned as well. “Which would mean that any attempt to banish Star would end up—”

“Disappearing into a void between dimensions,” Dr. Pines replied. “Which we _cannot allow to happen.”_

“Owen, call us a cab to the airport,” Xanatos said. “I’ll make sure there’s a plane ready to fly us there immediately.”

“Of course.” The phone was in easy reach, and Owen immediately stepped a short distance away from the group to make the call, but not far enough away that he couldn’t overhear the conversation.

“ _Why_ is a trickster deity working under you?” Sixer asked. “Much less one that quite clearly can do what he wants _whenever_ he wants.”

“Oh, that? Puck owed me a favor, and I asked for his servitude in exchange.” Xanatos chuckled. “He and I have worked quite well together over the years. Your turn to answer a question – how is it that you are able to live with another version of yourself? I would have thought that inter-dimensional relations of that sort would end badly, considering that you are completely identical. Well, almost identical.”

“Dad,” Alex spoke up in warning.

“What? You can’t fault a man for being curious, and I feel it’s a fair exchange of knowledge.”

Owen heard Sixer mutter something as he finished up the call for the cab – unfortunately, the fox’s voice wasn’t entirely clear.

“According to what information we _have,_ there is a possibility of counterparts meeting with each other and accidentally causing a singularity where they and possibly also the dimension they are _in_ collapse into the void,” Dr. Pines said shortly. “ _Apparently,_ those of us in this dimension are exceptions to that rule. Occasional anomalies do pop up that create outlying data, I suppose.”

“The cab will be here shortly, Mr. Xanatos,” Owen spoke up as he rejoined the group.

“Right, right. I’ll get that plane up here, just a moment…”

Now Xanatos walked away with his phone. Owen watched him for a moment, then looked back at the others—

\--only to find Sixer _staring_ at him.

It was like the kitsune was trying to peel back the outer layers of Owen and reveal the fae who was currently hiding underneath.

Fox cleared her throat. “What was your world like, before it disappeared? If you would be willing to explain that.”

Sixer didn’t answer until Flare nudged him. “It was identical to this one, mostly. Was your husband telling the truth about…” He nodded towards Owen.

“He was,” Owen confirmed. “And it has been a good bargain struck.”

The statement seemed to surprise Sixer and Flare, as their eyebrows both rose at once.

“I’m not surprised that a being such as yourself would offer this sort of position,” Dr. Pines remarked. “Previous research into fairytales and the like _usually_ put the Fair Folk around those who have a great deal happening around them, or have interests that align well with the interested trickster.”

“Puck? With _that guy?_ Really?” Stanley frowned over at Xanatos. “I find that hard ta believe.”

“You haven’t been to New York recently, then,” Fox replied. “Maybe we can show you what we’ve been up to after we take care of your little problem?”

The steel trap of a façade settled over Dr. Pines’ _and_ Sixer’s faces at the question.

“We’ll see,” Flare said. “Are there any _other_ questions that we might not want to answer?”

“I’ve got one.” Alex raised a hand. “I’m not looking for details or anything, but – from what I know already – Puck said there was a demon, and that he had a terrible sense of trickery and he wanted to get into our dimension. He also said you were chaos-touched, so…did he get into your world?”

Stanley and Dr. Pines both looked over at Sixer. He looked back at them with a guarded expression before looking at Flare. The two kitsune held a quiet conversation with their expressions agin, both seemingly concerned.

Sixer sighed and looked at Alex. “He is the reason my dimension is gone.”

Owen shook his head as Fox sucked in a breath out of shock. It was simple to guess at that piece of information, but to have it confirmed was something else.

“But he’s gone now,” Flare said as Xanatos came back to the group. “The damn demon won’t be breaching this world’s defenses anytime soon, that’s been made sure of.”

“Demons are hard to kill though, right?” Alex frowned.

“Not when you know something they themselves have overlooked,” Dr. Pines replied.

“The plane’s getting prepped,” Xanatos spoke up, getting the others’ attention. “We should go back to the hotel and get our things, maybe get your car to a local mechanic that—”

“No way.” Stanley was immediately soured. “I ain’t trustin’ El Diablo ta _anybody_ around here. I’m callin’ McGucket, or get it towed _all the way back ta Gravity Falls.”_

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. “…fair enough. But we shouldn’t dawdle for long.”

“That is not our intention.” Dr. Pines adjusted his glasses; the sun gleamed off them just long enough that it made his eyes difficult to be seen. “A few calls back home, and we should have some prepared reinforcements ready to travel cross country at a moment’s notice on their own. If McGucket doesn’t tell them, they’ll figure it out when we don’t arrive home immediately.”

“Good to know that your little ‘clan’ is so closely connected,” Xanatos remarked.

There came a honk from the street.

“Our cab, sir,” Owen spoke up.

“Ah! Excellent. Let’s get to the hotel and collect our things, and be on our way.”


	8. En Route

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a short chapter, I know, but I was in a bit of a hurry to get the story done when I was writing this. On the bright side, I've managed to get to what I think is the last chapter, so my posting schedule shouldn't be hindered any for this story!

Xanatos’ private plane was thankfully big enough for everyone to fit somewhat comfortably. It meant that they weren’t going to have to deal with people staring at the two kitsune, which was a boon, but it _also_ meant they were crammed into a small space for the next few hours.

Xanatos frowned. Finding a conversation topic was going to be difficult, especially considering that they likely weren’t going to be _willing_ to talk about much of anything anytime soon. His attempts at conversation at the hotel and on the way to the airport had been met with a wall of silence.

Which meant it was _incredibly_ frustrating that his _son_ was getting some form of communication out of them.

“—more the meaning than the language?” Alex asked.

“Essentially.” Dr. Pines waved a hand around. “I’ve come across a number of spells that have been cobbled-together Latin that don’t make sense when directly translated, especially considering that some words have been made to _sound_ like Latin, instead of being turned into _actual_ Latin words. It’s a decent crutch to lean on for a beginner, but eventually spellcasters should, in theory, be capable of using spells without needing spoken words, much less ones that will be recognized as a mostly-dead language.”

“Didn’t need the lecture, nerd,” Stanley grumbled from his seat.

Alex was writing quickly in an open notebook. “That makes a lot of sense, actually. There are some times when Puck uses words that don’t make sense, or just sound like they came from somewhere else.” He paused. “Do you think the fae have a language that gives their spells power, or is it the same as human ones?”

“While I haven’t studied the language of the fae, much less how their spells work in comparison to human-made ones…”

“I think we may have just found Alex another tutor.” Fox looked at Xanatos with raised brows.

“Something tells me this is only temporary,” Xanatos replied. “And he _certainly_ isn’t going to answer any questions I’ll ask about his work.”

“If you keep asking about immortality, we certainly won’t.”

Xanatos and Fox almost jumped as Flare draped herself over the back of the seats in front of them.

“Alex is young and isn’t as inclined to look for your interests as you are,” Flare said. “At least _he_ hasn’t signed into the Illuminati as you have.”

“I haven’t shaken hands with anyone in order to make a deal that involves any sort of world-ending apocalypse, as I have already said,” Xanatos said, raising his hands. “It’s been suggested I _meet_ the founder, but that was _years_ ago. If you have anything else to be mad at me for, focus your attention on that, not on my personal connections.”

“Hm.” Flare frowned.

“To be fair, everything that you’ve dropped hints about – the whole demon thing and what he did to your world – makes me start to wonder if I can keep my connections but keep myself from climbing higher. The Illuminati is nothing more than a tool for me to gain connections and information that I want.”

Sixer, who was sitting next to Flare, glanced back at Xanatos. On the other side of the plane, Dr. Pines was talking about zombies for a reason Xanatos wasn’t about to try and figure out.

“It’s always been about the connections and the information,” Xanatos added. “The missions they’d ask me to undertake in return have been interesting, but if there is a potentially ugly ulterior motive, I may have to cut ties with them and create an entirely new network.” He tapped his chin in thought. “Unless, of course….”

“The demon is dead,” Sixer said flatly. “It’s only a matter of time before that entire organization falls apart without its head. If you are as free as you say you are, it would be better to get out before the fallout affects you.”

“It’s going to affect me, like it or not. Those connections were very useful to my endeavors, even when the organization has stagnated.”

“I would rather see you _alive_ than involved in making anything like that mess,” Fox said. “Leaving our son without a father would be counter-productive.”

“Very true. However, if he doesn’t have a network to work from when he grows up, he will be at a severe disadvantage.”

“He could also be at a severe disadvantage if you sold your loyalty to a demon for the low, low price of a vague statement about immortality,” Flare interrupted. “It’s better if he forges his own connections, using the warnings of the previous generation as guidelines.”

“So you say.” Xanatos frowned.

“You are being quite vague about what you know of this dead monster yourself,” Fox pointed out. “How can we put together proper warnings if we don’t know exactly what you’ve dealt with?”

“It’s more a matter of how we can present the information,” Sixer replied. “The demon that ran the Illuminati has identical counterparts, and we don’t know if there is potential out there for another one to attempt a Weirdmageddon like the last one.”

“Not to mention, if we were to show you what he _looked_ like, any counterpart would be able to use even the simplest sketch of themselves as a viewpoint into this dimension,” Flare added. “We don’t want to give him more opportunity than he already has.”

“Fair enough,” Xanatos agreed. “But you can describe him. Unless he can see into a person’s mind when they start thinking about him.”

Sixer frowned and looked to Flare, who shook her head.

“It should be fine that way,” Flare said. “Thinking about the demon isn’t the same thing as summoning him, and considering that we’re here, I think that any moron would think twice before attempting to take this dimension.” She grinned and nudged her husband. “Especially after you killed him in a spectacular fashion.”

“ _You_ killed him?”

Fox’s surprised question made the entire plane fall silent. Xanatos glanced over at the other group and noticed that Dr. Pines, Stanley, Alex, and Owen were staring at them.

“Sixer, I thought we agreed that speaking of those events was not something we were going to discuss until a later date,” Dr. Pines said with a frown.

“The man is going to continue to pester until he can get answers, whether or not he knows what he is asking for,” Sixer replied. “And _I_ thought we agreed that warning others about what could become of them would be far safer than to let them continue and fall deeper before they can be pulled back.”

“I don’t think this guy can be trusted,” Stanley pointed out. “ _Especially_ with _that._ The demon was dangerous, an’ now he isn’t. End of story.”

“Except it isn’t, is it?”

Xanatos felt everyone’s eyes on him again, but he was looking at Sixer.

“Because the Illuminati is still around, and hasn’t fallen apart,” Xanatos continued. “It sounds like this demon’s death was recent enough that you still remember it clearly, but far enough back that the organization has been functioning without its head for some time, unlike the Quarrymen in their crusade against the gargoyles and anything to do with magic. The fact that the organization is still _functioning_ is likely a cause for concern among you, especially considering that this demon apparently functions on deals and likely has made deals with those higher up. So you’re worried that…what, there might be sleeper agents for this demon across the world? Is that it?”

Sixer looked across at Dr. Pines. Both looked grim.

“So, you were concerned when you met me that I was a potential sleeper agent, or at the very least someone interested in this demon in such a way that you didn’t want me to be aware of everything that you knew about him. A wise approach, considering that I didn’t tell you immediately that I was a member.”

“It’s more that we don’t want people to get ideas about summoning demons in general,” Flare said. “Every deal they make comes at a cost that the mortal either can’t pay or doesn’t want to pay, especially if it’s something that’s sprung onto them by surprise later. Demons like the triangle guy are looking into breaking into this plane of existence, only to cause dimensions to collapse as a result of that. We don’t want to see a repeat, much less a repeat from someone who _might_ be willing enough to make a deal with a demon for something like immortality.”

The plane fell silent again. Xanatos could feel the gazes of the others really burning into him now.

“You haven’t exactly made yourself seem entirely trustworthy by your actions,” Dr. Pines said. “Your vague statements about the gargoyles leads me to believe that you do know them, but are more likely to be an enemy than an ally. What little research I’ve managed to _find_ suggests that the gargoyles may be more helpful than harmful, but they stick to themselves and don’t normally get mixed up in human affairs. This makes it rather difficult to say for certain which one of you I would be willing to trust.”

“If we can trust ‘em at all,” Stanley added.

“A fair point, Stanley.”

Alex rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Look, the Quarrymen grabbed me, and they have your niece. I know you don’t like Dad, and I don’t like it either when he schemes, but we’re gonna have to deal with him until find out where the Quarrymen _are_ in New York. Besides, I can vouch for the gargoyles – they’re nice people. And they don’t like the Quarrymen any more than you do.”

Xanatos relaxed as Dr. Pines and Stanley looked at Alex, then at each other.

“I can see why he’s your kid,” Flare muttered.

Fox glared, but Xanatos grinned at the comment.

“We tried our best,” Xanatos said. “Now, then—”

“Before we continue with that line of conversation, I would like to know the sorts of adversaries we are facing in the _present.”_ Sixer turned in his seat to frown at Xanatos, his seven tails blocking any chance to look out the window next to him. “We have a few hours before we land, and these Quarrymen are not going to make themselves easy to find, much less stop.”

“Agreed,” Dr. Pines spoke up. “We require a _proper_ plan of attack. I don’t intend to wander the city for days, only to reach them when it’s too late for Star.” His eyes narrowed.

“Fair enough; we’ll table my questions about the dead demon that I should be concerned about for another day.” Xanatos gave Sixer a pointed look, but got a frown in exchange.

He adjusted to looking at the whole group. “The Quarrymen are, to put it simply, a group that want to get rid of the gargoyles in New York by any means necessary. At least, that’s how they were in the beginning – I’m not sure what they were thinking in deciding to take off with your niece. The thing is, they are intent on removing the gargoyles by finding where they sleep in the day in order to destroy their stone forms. A police detective and I have ensured they can’t be reached easily, at least, so they haven’t been able to make a dent in the population. That hasn’t stopped them from trying to make New York _fear_ the gargoyles, however.”

“The KKK but for magical creatures,” Flare summed up.

Dr. Pines winced. “That is going to be a problem.”

“Only if we let ‘em become a problem,” Stanley replied. “These guys should’a left us alone an’ we wouldn’t’ve bothered ‘em. Not right away, anyway – ‘m sure if we got wind a’ those guys messin’ with stuff they shouldn’t, a couple’a us woulda’ gona an’ done somethin’ later.”

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. A _couple?_ Just how much of a threat did they judge the Quarrymen to be?

Or was there something _more_ they weren’t telling him?

“Well, regardless, we are dealing with people who live in New York City and know the streets well.” Xanatos leaned forward, resting his head on folded hands. “Unless we enlist the assistance of the gargoyles, we are not going to be able to corner them well.”

“From what you’ve said of them, you aren’t on the best of terms with them.” Sixer frowned. “How can you expect them to assist us in any manner?”

“Well, we _are_ technically under a truce. They like my son, and my son isn’t about to let me do anything that could…potentially put that in jeopardy.”

“No way I’m not. If Lexington catches wind of you doing _anything_ online like uploading your consciousness again—”

“Relax, that wouldn’t really be me anyway. I’m not about to create something that isn’t _really_ me. That would have been just a copy of me, like the Coyote model.” Xanatos waved off his son’s frowning glare. “But the Quarrymen _have_ been a common enemy, when they have been stirring up trouble. I think they would be willing to get involved, at least a little. We’ll have to see about getting into contact with them when we land, which _should_ be around sunset. They’ll be awake by then.”

“They’re nocturnal creatures,” Dr. Pines noted.

“They have to be. They turn to stone in sunlight.” Xanatos paused. “Well, most of them. Demona is an exception to the rule.”

“That tends to happen when a creature of another species is turned human in daylight hours, sir,” Owen remarked.

Dr. Pines’ eyebrows rose as he adjusted his glasses. “Fascinating.”

“There are also a _lot_ of them,” Fox said pointedly. “A lot more in New York than I’d _like_ there to be.”

“One step at a time, my dear,” Xanatos replied. “Quarrymen first, real estate later. Now, the gargoyles _do_ have one human ally. A police detective who helps to act as a mediator between them and the rest of the world, when it’s daylight. It’s likely we will be in contact with her after we land, depending on whether or not it is past sunset. We can put our heads together and find where the Quarrymen are hiding this time. It’s simply a matter of whether or not we will accidentally anger her by going in without a warrant.”

The grin that crossed Xanatos’ face made Flare raise an eyebrow.

“Eh, I’ve done worse.” Stanley made a shooing sort of motion. “A little breakin’ an’ enterin’ could do me some good.”

“Did you forget that you are _still_ banned from the state of New York?” Dr. Pines asked.

“Let me handle that. I’ve got a few strings I can pull; it’s the least I could do after you assisted in saving my son.” Xanatos waved off the stares he received. “I’ve dealt with worse, believe me.”

Sixer snorted. Flare shook her head.

“You may have dealt with many things, Xanatos, but you have not dealt with a _Pines,”_ Flare said.

“It can’t be that bad,” Xanatos replied. “Not when we have a group dead-set on removing magic from the world as a current problem.”

Flare and Sixer exchanged looks as Dr. Pines and Stanley both raised their eyebrows.

Xanatos didn’t bother trying to guess what they were thinking – something told him he would be finding out soon enough.


	9. Meet the Gargoyles

Xanatos _really_ hadn’t dealt with the kind of chaos the Pines brought with them.

“When you said that you had been banned from New York, I didn’t think _that_ would be the reason why you were forced out of the state.” Xanatos rubbed his forehead and frowned at Stanley.

Stanley shrugged, sheepish. “Hey, I was a stupid kid doin’ stupid things.”

“Like attempting door to door selling of items to businesses when the items you were selling broke as soon as they left your hands?”

“Hey, it’s an oldie but a goodie. ‘Sides, I’d _just_ been kicked outta the house, whaddaya expect of a kid who knows next ta nothin’?”

“You knew a great deal, Stanley,” Dr. Pines nudged his brother as they left the airport. “I wouldn’t have been able to survive for half as long as you in that situation.”

“Yeah, well….” Stanley was grinning, and despite his best attempts he wasn’t going to be able to hide it.

“You didn’t mention that you’re technically banned from airplanes, either,” Flare remarked. “Because you wanted to take a day off the calendar.”

“Shh! We’re still in earshot’a those guys, do ya _really_ wanna test that now?”

Flare laughed, and Sixer chuckled as they reached a van-sized taxi sitting on the curb.

“Not the best way to welcome you to New York, but it will have to do for now.” Xanatos looked up at the skyline and the dark sky above them. “Well, we should start making our way to their usual gathering place. Alex, would you be willing to give the detective a call?”

“I’m gonna see if I can catch Lexington first.” Alex jumped into the back of the cab and got into the far back seat. Fox followed after him immediately, as did Owen.

Xanatos slid into the next row, followed by Flare, who sat on the far side of the row in order to give her tails space. Sixer, Stanley, and Stanford crammed themselves into the next row up.

The cab diver did a double-take and turned to stare at the group. “Uh….”

“Just take us to my home.” Xanatos had to wave in order to get the man’s attention. “They’re with me.”

“O-oh! M-Mr Xanatos sir!” The driver started the van moving immediately.

“You have a lot of influence here,” Sixer remarked as they drove away from the airport. “Is this because of—”

“It has more to do with me than with anything that I am connected with that you are aware of,” Xanatos replied. “I _am_ a rich and influential person, after all.”

“Lex, Lex, I’m – _I’m_ okay, but we’ve got a problem. A kid’s been kidnapped by the Quarrymen – she looks like some kind of fairy. We’ve got the rest of her family here, and we’re coming up to the tower soon. Do you think you guys can help us find her before they do something stupid?”

Xanatos glanced back and saw his son on his cell, a frown on his face.

“Yeah, sure – she’s related to that Dr. Pines guy who lives out in Oregon. Probably twelve or thirteen years old, brown hair, brown eyes, and these large pink wings that are kinda butterfly-shaped. Oh, and she looks like she’s covered in glitter. I don’t know if she has any magic to her, but, um….” Alex looked over at Sixer. “Is it okay if I tell them about what Puck calls—”

“Only if it’s relevant to the situation,” Sixer replied. “Right now, I don’t think the Quarrymen or these gargoyles need to know about that.” He paused. “Star is capable of manipulating gravity, however. I would consider that important to know, if we reach her and she’s already started the process of fighting back.”

“What, really?” Alex blinked, then glanced at his phone. “N-nothing, Lex, it’s just – apparently she can manipulate gravity, too?”

Xanatos leaned forward slightly. “That would explain the strange forcefield she generated yesterday. I assume that’s a visual representation of her magic?”

Sixer nodded.

“Yeah, we’re heading up to the tower now,” Alex continued. “I dunno how long traffic’s gonna make us take, though – we’re in a taxi, one of their vans. If you want to send someone ahead you can, but I don’t think the driver would take to well to having one of you guys on the roof.” A pause as he glanced around the cabin. “We just need to find out where they are and maybe how many of you guys might be willing to help us out. It sounds like they want to banish Dr. Pines' niece from this world, but that would lead her nowhere – literally. So, we’re on a time crunch.”

“Considering they don’t like to associate themselves with magic, I doubt we’re on as much of a time crunch as we think,” Xanatos remarked.

“Unless they have a mentality that leads them to want to know their enemy, and therefore everything that we could be capable of,” Flare remarked.

“Perhaps, but I don’t see a group of people of this sort that eager to get their hands dirty with something they want gone. Then they would become what they hated and collapse in on themselves.”

“Then they’d be more eager to _kill_ Star than banish her,” Sixer said flatly. “Which would mean we are still racing against time, _regardless_ of what their focus is.”

“Yeah, that was one of the people who came with Gravity Falls.” Alex paused, then looked out the window next to him. “Yeah, it looks like we’re almost there. See you soon, Lex.” Alex hung up and put the phone down. “Sounds like They’re having some trouble with the Quarrymen right now, too. Brooklyn has been seeing them harass his kids. Or trying to.”

“Sounds like we have similar goals then. Excellent.” Xanatos nodded in approval. “Good, good. That means they will be more willing to help than if we had just walked up and presented our case. Goliath will be more willing to listen than I was expecting. That is good to know.”

“He won’t be more willing to listen to _you,_ Dad,” Alex replied. “Especially not after all the stuff you pulled before I was born.”

“Just a minor setback.” Xanatos was about to wave off his son’s frown, but then he noticed the looks he was getting from their guests. “Ah…the gargoyles and I have not always been the best of friends, I suppose you could say. We are currently under a truce on such actions, but—”

“Us coming here on your invite might make us look suspicious,” Dr. Pines said flatly.

“Not the first time.” Stanley shrugged.

Alex stared. “What kind of life have you _lived,_ exactly?”

“An exciting one,” Flare replied.

**Time Break**

With how New York traffic was, it took longer than Xanatos liked in order to reach his home. In that time, talk had ground to a halt – the Pines and the two kitsune were not keen to elaborate on their “exciting” life, and they didn’t seem keen on continuing the conversation in general.

The cab slowed to a halt, and the driver looked back at the group of strange riders. “Uh…we’re here, Mr. Xanatos.”

“Excellent.” Xanatos tapped the seat in front of him. “Let’s go and meet the gargoyles, shall we? I’ll take care of paying.”

Stanley was out on the street before Xanatos could finish speaking. Dr. Pines, Sixer, and Flare followed before Stanley could get very far away from the taxi.

His family followed after them as Xanatos moved to the front of the taxi and swiftly paid the cab driver, with a little extra to make sure that he didn’t complain later about any potential trouble he might have seen the Pines as.

A few moments later, and Xanatos stepped out of the cab-van himself and grinned at the group, who were standing near his tower’s entrance. “An impressive sight, isn’t it? You wouldn’t believe the amount of work I had to go to in order to place the castle at the top, above the clouds. It took a great deal of manpower years ago, believe me, and I’m not even sure that modern building codes would have allowed it, if I’d tried it ten years later than I did.”

“Eh, I’ve seen weirder things attempted.” Stanley eyed Xanatos. “So, where’s the gar-thingies?”

The dark shadow that fell from somewhere above their heads and landed next to Sixer and Maria gave them an answer before Xanatos could even start to articulate one.

“Ah, Goliath. I didn’t think you would be coming down here to greet us in person.” Xanatos smiled as the hulking purplish gargoyle straightened himself from his landing crouch.

Goliath didn’t say anything for a moment, which was par for the course. He certainly made for an imposing sight, with his wings currently outstretched, revealing he was wearing nothing but a belt that was holding a scrap of leather around his waist. Xanatos found it interesting that Goliath hadn’t changed anything about himself despite the years it had been since his clan had been brought from Scotland.

“You are the group that Lexington spoke of?” Goliath asked in a low rumble. He looed over the four from Oregon with a frown.

“I can vouch for them.” Alexander stepped closer, raising a hand. “Flare helped get me out of the Quarrymen stronghold – even if Dad hadn’t arrived, the two of us would have been able to get out with just her beating them back, I think.”

Goliath raised an eyebrow and turned his attention to Flare as Alex motioned to the two kitsune. In response, Flare raised her head slightly and raised an eyebrow, while Sixer’s expression hardened slightly.

“How much do you trust Xanatos?” Goliath asked.

“We’ve had _enough_ experience to know that he shouldn’t be trusted with _anything_ that might reside in Gravity Falls,” Dr. Pines replied flatly. “Until he proves that he has no ulterior motive with his attempts at gaining our trust, we do not intend to make a permanent partnership with _him_ out of this chain of events.” He looked at Flare and Sixer, who nodded in agreement.

“Xanatos isn’t the first to attempt to gain our trust, and he likely won’t be the last,” Flare said. “Whether or not those who follow will be even more foolish than he is something that will be revealed as time goes forward.”

“I hope you mean that as a compliment,” Xanatos remarked.

Flare snorted and rolled her eyes. “It is a comment on how much of a threat you are in case we let our guard down around you.”

“Definitely a compliment.” Xanatos grinned.

Goliath frowned at Xanatos, but the gargoyle’s glare did nothing to bring down Xanatos’ glee at the unintended, but still spoken, compliment. He turned his attention back. “What do you call yourselves?”

“I am Flare, and this is my husband—”

“Sixer,” Sixer said, interrupting Flare. He showed his hands to Goliath, spreading out his six fingers.

Goliath blinked, but didn’t comment on the number of fingers as he looked at the two old men who had yet to introduce themselves.

“I am Stanford Pines, and this is my twin brother, Stanley,” Dr. Pines said.

“Twins?” Goliath raised an eyebrow.

“Yes.” Dr. Pines frowned. “Is there something about twins in your culture that could potentially make us a threat?”

Goliath frowned. “…No. Twins are known among gargoyles, but it is rare for one egg to hatch into two.” He paused and looked up the tower again. “Come. We have much to discuss, and not much time if we are to retrieve your niece.”

“Agreed,” Dr. Pines and Sixer said at once.

That got a long stare from Goliath before he stepped into the building, his wings pulling around himself like a cloak, but leaving his tail free to move as it pleased.

Xanatos found it interesting that none of the Pines commented on how Goliath decided to take the elevator up with them, despite the fact that he had wings and likely could have used them to fly back up again. Perhaps they were making their own assumptions about the gargoyle’s choice of transport.

“How many live in your clan?” Dr. Pines asked. “Are they able to cover a great deal of ground in a short time, or will we—”

“There are enough of us.” Goliath replied shortly. “We will find them.”

Dr. Pines nodded. “I’m grateful to you for your assistance in this. You didn’t have to step up and help us locate Star.”

“The Quarrymen are a…mutual enemy of ours, for the moment.” Goliath glanced at Dr. Pines, then frowned at Xanatos before looking back at the older man. “If they are attempting something, it could eventually come to affect us, if not halted.”

“And perhaps other pockets of magical creatures within this country’s borders as well,” Flare added.

“Mm.” Goliath nodded. “You are aware of such things.”

“We live in a magical hotspot of sorts on the west coast, in Oregon state,” Dr. Pines explained. “If these ‘Quarrymen’ found their way to Gravity Falls, the ecosystem would not only be thrown completely out of whack, but I can assure you the townsfolk wouldn’t take _kindly_ to an invasion.” He glanced at Xanatos.

Xanatos raised his hands as the elevator came to a stop. “I can assure you, I intend nothing of the kind. Nothing in Gravity Falls currently interests me, especially since you have made it quite clear that you aren’t eager to assist me.”

“Good.” Stan relaxed a fist – the one that Xanatos could see, at any rate. “Cause if you come knockin’ at our front door again an’ ask fer any research without any reason, yer gettin’ the boot an’ yer not comin’ back.”

“Which you made clear already,” Xanatos replied. “Besides, you have given me other things to think about.”

The elevator doors opened, revealing a large, stone room with high ceilings and banners and tapestries everywhere. A few figures were standing around in groups, talking amongst themselves – all of them gargoyles of various sizes and colors.

Xanatos could see Dr. Pines looked amazed at the sight that greeted them, but the expression was brief as they stepped out of the elevator.

“Where’s Lexington?” Alex asked, looking around. “He wanted to talk when we got here about—”

“Alex!”

Xanatos didn’t need to look over to see where the green gargoyle was running from. The on-the-smaller-side figure was familiar enough.

“What is it, Lexington?” Goliath asked.

“We’re still narrowing down where their current base of operations is, but – at _least_ one of those people with you set off the silent metal detectors when they came in.” Lexington pointed at their guests. “What kind of weapons do you have?”

“Just my fists, kid. Relax.” Stanley brandished his pair of brass knuckles, then stuck them back in his pockets.

“I am aware that Dr. Pines has a strange-looking weapon,” Xanatos remarked. “He attempted to shoot it at the Quarrymen when they made off with his niece.”

Dr. Pines’ hand drifted to his side for a moment. The gun was hiding under his coat, but it was clear he was thinking about it.

“I am only intending to make use of it against the Quarrymen,” Dr. Pines said stiffly. “Whether or not I am _able_ to depends on when they are found.”

Lexington frowned, and he looked to Goliath.

“It would be to your advantage if you did as you said,” Goliath said.

“That is my intention,” Dr. Pines replied.

“That still doesn’t cover the large amount of metal I detected, though.” Lexington held up a tablet. “It looks like one of you is wearing a suit of armor.”

Fox looked over the four of them. “I wouldn’t say that any of them _look_ like they’re wearing armor. Did that McGucket fellow make something for you that disguises itself when you don’t need it?”

“Something like that,” Flare replied. “I don’t currently see a need to make use of it, considering we are not in a place that requires any of us defending ourselves.” She gave Xanatos and Fox a pointed look.

“Interesting,” Xanatos remarked. “That explains the armor you wear in your other shape. Well, my curiosity’s satisfied.” He looked at Lexington. “How narrowed down is the area, then? Perhaps I can pull some strings myself.”

Lexington didn’t answer for a moment, looking between Goliath and Flare with a frowning expression. When Goliath gave a nod, Lexington looked back at the tablet. “Well, they’re not anywhere in any of their previous bases. We’ve been spreading out, but not too far – they have to be close enough that they’re keeping an eye on us, but far enough away that we wouldn’t think to look in that area.”

“They likely have found ways to avoid your radar and usual searches,” Sixer remarked with a frown. “They’re prepared for you and anything you might be capable of.”

“Unfortunately.” Lexington shook his head. He looked at Sixer with an odd look. “If you want to help, then we’re all ears.”

“Hm.” Sixer’s own ears flicked. “Flare has a bit of a knack for sneaking into bases and giving them a great deal of trouble before they are able to catch her, much less harm her in any capacity.” He looked to his wife, who was already tapping her chin with a thoughtful expression. “I’m sure at the very least you are going to be able to find something suspicious.”

“Maybe.” Flare’s tails were curling and waving back and forth as a smile started to form on her face. “It _would_ be satisfactory, ensuring that they would know not to cross the Pines.”

“Hey, hey, hey, I’d like a piece a’ that action too.” Stanley raised a fist. “Don’t you go hoggin’ it all.”

Flare laughed. “Not in the plan, Stan, don’t worry.”

“You are strangely confident for a being who has not met the Quarrymen before,” Goliath remarked.

“They have done things that make these fellows look easy by comparison, I think,” Xanatos remarked. “They haven’t given me many details, but it sounds like they are overly prepared for this.”

Sixer shook his head slightly at Xanatos’ words. “This isn’t over-prepared. Not yet.”

Goliath and Xanatos both looked at Sixer for a moment, then looked back at Lexington.

“Well, it seems that we have prepared allies in this,” Xanatos remarked. “And likely not as much time as we would like.”

“Which is what I’m worried about,” Lexington replied. “A fairy-girl who can control gravity would be dangerous for anyone, and you said they wanted to banish her, Alex?”

“Yeah.” Alexander nodded. “They wanted to banish Flare, too, but she was able to use magic _despite_ being chained in iron, so they wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere with her.”

“I doubt they’d be able to get far with Star, either, but their talk of tearing her wings apart concerned me greatly.” Flare frowned. “We can’t let them do such things to her, much less to anyone else who might be caught by them.”

Lexington and Goliath exchanged looks, as did the other gargoyles. Xanatos was not surprised to see that they had been listening in on the conversation.

“We should move quickly,” Goliath decided. “The sooner we take care of the Quarrymen, the sooner we can ensure they will not do more damage to us or others, the better.”

“Yeah.” Lexington nodded in agreement. “We need to spread out our search area.” He looked down at the tablet in his hands and started tapping quickly. “There’s a few areas of New York that we haven’t been able to search out yet. Brooklyn is still out with Katanna and the kids, so I haven’t been able to ask them for help. I just hope they haven’t run into any trouble.” He frowned at Xanatos. “I know you’ve been up to _something,_ Xanatos.”

“Nothing that could hurt you, I promise,” Xanatos replied. “At least, not intentionally. If anything, the Quarrymen have upset more than I was currently intending.”

“Hm.” Goliath frowned. “See to it that you don’t.” He turned and walked over to another group of nearby gargoyles.

“Now you see what I have to deal with.” Xanatos motioned to Goliath as he nodded to Dr. Pines.

“From what it sounds like, he has good reason to do so,” Dr. Pines replied.

“Well, he _used_ to, but that was years ago.”

“The only reason you’re not giving them trouble is because of me, Dad,” Alex spoke up. “And you know it.”

Xanatos rolled his eyes. “Because you and Owen have reminded me very frequently. Don’t worry, son, I’m not going to do anything that could jeopardize your little friendship.”

“You’d better not.” Alex folded his arms and frowned.

Lexington cleared his throat before the conversation between them could continue. “We can’t exactly search the whole city on our own. If you could search the ground with the police, we’d appreciate the help.”

“The sooner we can find Star, the better,” Sixer agreed. “Where should we be looking?”

Flare reached into one of her tails without looking back and pulled out a red and orange, metal box that didn’t look like it could have stayed in her tail. “We don’t know New York well enough to search as well as you’d like, but we’ll do what we can.”

“What’s with the box there?” Xanatos asked.

“Just a little something that will let me move more quickly.” Flare drummed her fingers against the box-looking device. “It’s not a weapon.”

“The faster we can look, the better,” Lexington motioned to the elevator. “Police Detective Maza is waiting downstairs to head out on patrol. She can tell you more where you need to be going.”

Flare gave a thumbs-up and nodded.

“I assume you’ll let Elisa know if you locate the Quarrymen before we do,” Dr. Pines said.

“That’s the idea,” Lexington replied. “We need to move quickly.”

He was met with nods, and the Pines disappeared into the elevator again.

Xanatos watched them go for a moment, then turned to look at Fox, Alex, and Owen. “Well, we should look in our own way, I suppose. I’m sure a few of my connections have a few different ideas as to where the Quarrymen could be hiding out.”

“Xanatos, you do realize that your ‘connections’ could be—”

“I am more than aware, thank you, don’t worry about that. But there’s nothing wrong with using them when they don’t know what _we_ know. Not yet, anyway.” Xanatos started walking out of the foyer of the castle. “If you excuse me, I’ll be making a few calls.”

“What are you talking about?” Lexington asked as Xanatos walked out of the room.

“Turns out some of Dad’s connections aren’t ones that even _he_ wants to stay connected with for long,” Alex replied.

“Hm.” Xanatos shook his head as he left the room behind him. “We’ll see how long I can keep those connections _going,_ before I can set up a new network. If the Illuminati is going to fall apart, we are going to need something in its place….”

If he had anything to say about it, that network was going to have _himself_ at its head, not anyone else.


	10. Locating the Problem

“So, you’re…what, from that sanctuary on the west coast that I’ve been hearing about?”

“That would be correct, yes.” Dr. Pines cleared his throat as the young woman look him over. “I take it you are the ally Lexington spoke of. Detective Maza?”

The dark-haired woman nodded curtly. She scanned the eclectic group in front of her, ignoring the loud traffic that was moving past Xanatos’ tower at its usual pace. “And you are?”

“People who wanna find our niece before she gets her wings torn off,” Stanley replied curtly. “Now are we gonna get a move on or not?”

“I’d like to make sure you’re not here for any ulterior motives, but….” Elisa’s gaze moved to Sixer and Maria, their tails constantly moving. “I don’t know much about people like you, but…aren’t foxes usually tricksters?”

“Usually,” Sixer agreed. “But I’m not as inclined towards such things.”

“If anyone’s gonna get our ire, it’s gonna be the people who took off with Star,” Maria added. “ _They’ve_ gained our ire, _you_ have not.”

Elisa frowned. “Well, that’s…you’ll let me know if I get close to that.”

“We’ll give you ample warning,” Sixer assured. “Now, then – where should we be looking for the _idiots_ who decided to kidnap my niece?”

Sixer’s toothy grin was a sight not lost on the detective, who frowned at him for a long moment.

“What kind of people are you if you got Xanatos’ attention?” Elisa asked.

“People he thought he could work into the good graces of, apparently.” Dr. Pines adjusted his glasses and checked his belt. Yes, his weapon was still there, and the sight of it caused Elisa to raise an eyebrow. “Fortunately for _us,_ we aren’t going to be allowing him access to our research so easily. So, where is it that we are searching, detective?”

“The area isn’t that far from here, although we’re going to have to contend with New York traffic.” Elisa looked up at Sixer’s ears. “I hope you’re going to be okay with stares; the people around here are still getting used to the gargoyles.”

“I’ll be able to ignore such things,” Sixer replied.

“As can I,” Maria added.

“Hm.” Elisa frowned at them for a moment longer, then turned and motioned for them to follow after her. “Come on, then. The area is a bit of a walk from here, and we’re going to have to move quickly. We can talk on the way.”

The four quickly fell into step around her and followed her as she made her way down the block and towards the area of the city that hadn’t yet been searched from the ground. Thankfully – or maybe strangely – the traffic wasn’t as bad tonight, so they didn’t have to wait long to cross streets.

“Mind telling me how it is that the Quarrymen of all groups decided to go after a bunch of old men and their niece?” Elisa asked. She didn’t bother looking back at the out-of-towners – not with Dr. Pines on one side of her and the others pressed closely together. She could almost feel their combined breaths against the back of her neck. It almost made her hair stand on end.

“We have reason to believe that they want my research, but for very different reasons from Xanatos,” Dr. Pines explained. “Gravity Falls is a weirdness hotspot for creatures that count as mythical or cryptic; considering that they apparently want to wipe out such things, it’s no surprise that they latched on to the idea of getting my research as soon as I started publishing papers.”

“Uh huh. How come _I’ve_ never heard of Gravity Falls, then? I’m friends with the gargoyles, and they’ve never talked about it.” Elisa nodded up towards the sky. She was sure there was at least one gargoyle nearby, scouting the skies for anything that might have been missed.

“The town was…rather secretive, originally,” Dr. Pines admitted. “Except for my brother and his tourist trap.”

“Hey, the Mystery Shack makes good money.” Stanley huffed.

“I am not denying that, but—”

“But nothin’. We can talk about how ya feel about me takin’ yer lab an’ turnin’ it inta somethin’ else later.” Stanley frowned at Dr. Pines. “An’ we’ve talked about this already.”

“I am more than aware of that, Stanley.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of the Mystery Shack before,” Elisa remarked. “I don’t travel very often because of my job, so I don’t go looking for places like that.”

Stanley made a shocked sort of noise, which got laughs from Maria and Sixer.

“You’re not missing much, unless you like pun-based fake creatures,” Maria remarked.

“It would be a nice change of pace after having to deal with everything from gargoyles to _Puck._ But I’m not about to leave my city in their hands to take a vacation across the country.”

“That is quite fair,” Sixer agreed. “So, what is it that we’re looking for in the area? I would assume that you would know how to spot something that might be out of place.”

“You’d think that, but these people know how to hide themselves.” Elisa scanned over the skyscrapers near them before moving on. “They know the city well enough on their own, and with a company of their own backing them up, that makes it even more difficult to get a warrant to enter the building and search the complex.”

There were general noises of agreement from the out-of-towners.

“I’m sure we can find ways around that,” Maria remarked.

“Maria, you—”

Elisa felt a blast of wind behind her, and she turned just as Maria rose up into the air on a metal, red and orange board that didn’t look like any piece of tech Elisa had seen before.

“Is…is that a hoverboard?” Elisa turned to look at the other three as Maria floated above them with her hands on her hips and a knowing sort of smile. “Do any of you have—”

“It’s specific to her, for the moment.” Dr. Pines shrugged, looking sheepish. “McGucket has been waiting to get permission to copy the designs and make more, but she hasn’t given him the opportunity yet.”

Elisa blinked at the response. “So…what, you made that?”

“Does it matter?” Maria replied. “I’ll keep an eye higher up with the gargoyles; I won’t stay too far.”

She turned her attention further up the skyscrapers around them, and then moved to fly higher.

“…you people are being almost impossible,” Elisa said finally.

“Maybe that impossibility will help us find my niece faster,” Sixer replied. He started to move past Dr. Pines and Elisa, moving further down the sidewalk. The people who were milling about, looking up at the gargoyles flying between the tall buildings, scattered as the kitsune drew close and walked past them. There were a great many stares, but Elisa noticed that Sixer didn’t seem to be affected by them. At all.

Dr. Pines noticed the frown on Elisa’s face. “If you have questions for him, it would likely be better asked later, unless they’re relevant.” He started to move after Sixer. “He is incredibly concerned for the state of his niece at the moment, and I doubt that he would respond well to questions that could potentially distract him.”

“If ya wanna make a point, Ford, don’t do it in so many words next time.” Stanley snorted.

Elisa shook her head, then looked at Stanley oddly as they moved to catch up. “You are hiding a lot, aren’t you.”

“Well, that’s a matter’a perspective, isn’t it?” Stanley grinned. The expression dropped into something more serious a moment later. “Listen, if stuff comes up, it’s gonna come up, but we’re not gonna talk about it unless we hafta. Got it?”

Elisa frowned. “I get it, but as a detective, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“Yer not figurin’ _us_ out, we’re figurin’ those Quarry guys out. So don’t worry about whatever it is that’s buggin’ ya about us, kay?”

“…Fine. But I expect detailed answers for related subjects once all this is over.”

Stanley looked like he was about to respond, but then he paused. “Uh…we’ll see on that one.”

Over the next hour, people on the sidewalk continued to stop and gawk at them as they moved past, looking around at the buildings and the people that were milling about on the streets. Elisa couldn’t help but notice that Sixer didn’t seem the least bit fazed by it all, considering how calm his tails were.

At the same time, however, they weren’t finding anything that remotely matched what the Quarrymen were capable of, in either their uniform _or_ their symbol.

“They’re certainly making themselves harder than usual to find,” Elisa remarked. “Usually the mere presence of the gargoyles flying around the city in these numbers draws them out.”

“Maybe they’re busy under the radar.” Dr. Pines frowned. “Which, in that case, things could become more dire if we let them go unnoticed.”

“Maybe Maria’s found something.” Sixer pulled a smart phone from his pocket and dialed with practiced ease. When Elisa was about to ask how he was going to be able to hear and talk from it, he simply held it up like a normal person who had put their phone on speaker. “Maria, how’s it going from your end?”

_::Interesting, for the most part. They’re asking me to give Lexington the plans for my board when we get back, but we haven’t spotted anything of note yet::_

Sixer blinked. “Really?”

_::There are a LOT of people crammed into one place, Sixer. Infrared is not doing anything for me right now::_

“Infrared?” Elisa repeated.

_::Speaker again, Sixer?::_

Sixer huffed. “I can’t exactly use a phone in the usual manner and you know it.”

_::Right, right. Yes, detective, I am capable of seeing on the infrared spectrum, but only when I choose to. It’s not as helpful here as you’d think::_

“You haven’t used anything else at your disposal?” Dr. Pines spoke up. “We know it doesn’t stop at infrared.”

 _::That may be, but anything that I_ personally _can do wouldn’t be helpful. I do have a great deal of things that my cousin made that might be useful, however. If I don’t call you back in five minutes, call me and see if I’ve managed to get anything of his working in our favor::_

There was an abrupt click as Maria cut the connection.

Sixer frowned at his phone before he stowed it away. “Well, at least we have some form of a potential lead….”

Elisa moved to stand in front of the group and put her hands on her hips. “That didn’t sound like a lead at all. Just what kind of a person _is_ your wife? And what kind of people are _you_ for that matter? The fact that the Quarrymen have your niece, Dr. Pines, makes me very suspicious of this entire situation. Not to mention that ‘research’ that you mentioned Xanatos being interested in earlier.”

“You have every right to be suspicious,” Dr. Pines replied. He glanced around at the people moving past them, staring with wide eyes at Sixer and murmuring to each other. “Unfortunately, I don’t feel as comfortable as _you_ might talking about this on an open street like this.” His expression darkened. “There are some things that are simply not meant to be heard by those not _directly_ involved.”

Elisa saw his gaze moving about, then nodded slightly. “I know what you mean. But what _can_ you tell me?”

Dr. Pines looked over at Sixer with a raised eyebrow. Sixer responded with one of his own.

“Maria can explain herself,” Sixer said. “I can tell you at least that she has abilities that a normal person doesn’t have. Even in comparison to me, considering that I am different from average humans.”

“As for who we are, we’re researchers of what most people would call magical or cryptic,” Dr. Pines continued. “Your gargoyle friends are a fascinating group of people that I would like to learn more about, but considering current circumstances _and_ who we arrived here with, I would understand if they weren’t inclined to sharing their secrets with us.”

“Magical and cryptic?” Elisa frowned. “You’re saying that Gravity Falls has creatures like that.”

“Plenty, yes.”

“An’ far too many ta be talkin’ about right now.” Stanley put his hands on Sixer’s and Dr. Pines’ shoulders. “So, we gonna keep movin’ or not?” He moved past them before they could respond, bumping Elisa in the shoulder as he strode further down the sidewalk.

“Stanley’s right,” Sixer agreed. “We can’t get distracted by talking about our research, as interesting as that may be. We _still_ haven’t found my niece, and that is increasingly worrying.” He followed after Stanley, catching up with a quickened pace.

Elisa and Dr. Pines followed suit.

“You can’t blame me for being cautious,” Elisa said.

“We don’t,” Dr. Pines replied. “We’ve had as much experience in such matter as you no doubt have, as a member of the police force.”

Elisa stared at Dr. Pines. There was a hardness in his face that she hadn’t been expecting to see in an old researcher, but considering the friends he had…it wasn’t as surprising as it might have been years ago.

Elisa nodded. “We are going to have to have a very long talk after this, Dr. Pines.”

Dr. Pines was about to respond when Sixer almost jumped in front of them.

“Stanley, hang on a moment!” Sixer grabbed Stanley’s shoulder as he reached a hand deep into one of his pockets. Dr. Pines and Elisa caught up to the two as Sixer held up his phone again.

“It’s Maria.” Sixer started to pull Stanley off the sidewalk and into an alley between a pair of nearby buildings.

“It seems we have a likely chance that they managed to locate our problem,” Dr. Pines remarked.

“And how would she have done that, exactly?” Elisa followed Dr. Pines as they slipped into the small alley.

“—anything?” Sixer finished asking.

_::Yeah. One of Joshua’s little drones picked up an electronic signal similar to the one the teleporter we found was setting off. One of the gargoyles agreed to go on ahead and scout out the area, but it’s pretty clear to me they’re not entirely willing to trust my word yet::_

“Considering that you’re not a gargoyle _and_ you’re not from New York, I’m not surprised,” Elisa said as she approached. “Who’s Joshua?”

Sixer frowned at the question, but Maria answered regardless of her husband’s expression.

_::Joshua was my cousin. He died many years ago because of a problem outside of Gravity Falls. He left everything to me and his brother, Jolt, but I’ve got their finished devices with me at all times in case of events like this::_

Elisa wasn’t sure if it was because of the phone or not, but every word that Maria spoke sounded short. Before she was able to come to her own conclusions as to why, however, Maria kept going.

_::The building they’re in isn’t too far from where you guys are right now. I should be able to guide you there, as well as alert Lexington and the rest of the gargoyle clan, but I don’t know if this is a teleporter point that is one of many they’ve set up in the city, or if they set this one up as a trap. I’d rather be cautious here than reckless, even if our niece’s life is on the line::_

“Agreed.” Dr. Pines pulled his hand away from where it had started to rest on that futuristic weapon of his. “Are you nearby, Maria?”

_::Just a few buildings down from you guys. I saw Sixer pull you guys into an alley, but it doesn’t look like there’s any surveillance in the area that has the Quarryman’s signature all over it. We should be all right for now::_

“Good.” Dr. Pines nodded shortly.

“Now we can put together a plan of attack or somethin’.” Stanley tapped his chin in thought. “Breakin’ down the doors’ll only let ‘em know we know where they’re at. Maybe a side entrance or somethin’?”

“I have no doubt that those will be just as guarded, Stanley,” Sixer replied.

“He’s right.” Elisa nodded to Sixer while Stanley scowled. “The Quarrymen likely have more security than whatever you have in Gravity Falls. You won’t be able to get inside as easily as you think.”

Maria chuckled. _::We’ll see about that::_

“Maria.” Sixer frowned.

 _::Sixer, I’ve done worse than hack into a building’s security system. Brainiac would have given me more trouble than that if he hadn’t gone for me_ first. _It got him booted from my system very quickly. This’ll be a cakewalk::_

“You know how to hack?” Elisa asked in confusion. “Are you like Lexington?”

_::What do you mean?::_

“Do you like working with technology or—”

_::Oh! Well, I can, but it’s not what I’m more known for. Joshua was the one enamored with tech in my family. I picked up a few tips from him, but not everything::_

Elisa frowned. “And you think what you have is enough?”

_::Well, if it isn’t, I’m sure Lexington would be interested in picking up the slack, if they decide to poke around in this particular building. I’m just waiting to see if they decide to or not::_

“Which means that we are being forced to wait as well.” Dr. Pines frowned. “We do not have that luxury.”

“Definitely not,” Sixer agreed. “Maria, is there anything you can do from there to see if Star is anywhere nearby?”

_::I don’t think so. Joshua’s tech can’t exactly track people, and I’m not built to track down aura signatures. That was my brother::_

Built? Elisa raised an eyebrow. Just what exactly _was_ this kitsune?

_::Wait – Sixer, why don’t you try to tap into **that?** ::_

Sixer’s shoulders stiffened as Stanley and Dr. Pines exchanged looks.

“That?” Elisa asked. “What do you mean?”

_::It makes sense to me that you would be able to bring up that kind of ability whenever you needed it and not whenever the universe wills it, Sixer::_

“That may be, Maria, but it’s new _enough_ that I have yet to fully—”

_::We don’t have time for research into strange and arcane things connected to the Axolotl right now. Please, Sixer, try it. If only to get a confirmation that the building I’m currently staring at is the one we can find Star in::_

“What are you talking about?” Elisa frowned.

Dr. Pines looked between the detective and Sixer, who looked like he was mentally debating with himself, before pinching the bridge of his nose and looking at Elisa. “Sixer has been stumbling across some rather strange techniques recently. The one that he has gained recently seemed to be some type of True Sight that allows him to see things that should not normally be seen.”

“And you don’t have it active all the time?” Elisa frowned.

Sixer frowned. “It’s not that simple.”

“Well, ya might as well try it.” Stanley folded his arms across his chest. “Not exactly like we’re doin’ anythin’ other than waitin’ right now.”

_::Please try it, Sixer? I’m still waiting for the gargoyle to come back from his circle around the building::_

Sixer sighed at Maria’s request, pinching the bridge of his nose in an identical manner to Dr. Pines. For a moment, Elisa thought he was planning on turning down their requests. Whatever this true sight was, it was pretty clear he wasn’t willing to try to activate it right now.

“…fine. I will give it an _attempt.”_ Sixer looked at Dr. Pines. “But if I cannot get anything from it, don’t tell me to ‘try harder.’ Any ability that has chaotic origins is not likely to respond in the way you want it to.”

_::Just do what you can, Sixer. That’s pretty much all any of us can ask right now::_

Maria’s encouraging tone made Sixer’s shoulders relax slightly, and he nodded. “Keep your eyes open up there.”

_::Will do::_

Sixer lowered the phone in his hand, but he didn’t hang up. He handed it over to Dr. Pines instead before closing his eyes and breathing in deeply.

“So, what, is this a meditation technique?” Elisa asked.

“From what we understand of it.” Dr. Pines nodded. “He hasn’t discussed how he came across this ability, but it was recent.”

“Recent? So, an old fox can learn new tricks?”

Stanley snorted. Dr. Pines smiled slightly.

“That would be one way of putting it,” Dr. Pines remarked.

“Spells an’ stuff are easy.” Stanley waved a hand, then a frown crossed his face. “This thing, though? It’s somethin’ else.”

“What kind of ‘something else’?” Elisa frowned.

Dr. Pines and Stanley exchanged looks.

“You don’t know, do you?”

“There are a _lot_ of things we don’t know about Maria and Sixer,” Dr. Pines replied.

Sixer shifted his stance. Elisa looked over and blinked when she saw that he was stiffening up again, and something started glowing from under his eyelids.

“And some things that even _they_ don’t know about themselves.”

Sixer opened his eyes, revealing that they had changed color – no longer the brown from before, but this time a blue-purple mix that was _definitely_ not normal.

Elisa almost shifted back. “What in—"

“Ya got it?” Stanley asked with a hopeful grin.

“For the moment.” Sixer turned his gaze away from them and looked up. “Maria is…then that means….”

Elisa frowned as Sixer stared at the wall in front of them. “Can you see through walls with that?”

“Yes and no.” Sixer’s seven tails flared out, not rising above the base of his spine but not staying close to the ground, either. “Energy isn’t hampered by walls of any sort.”

Elisa looked to Dr. Pines and Stanley, the former looking interested while the other was simply frowning. “Any explanation for this?”

“True Sight is an activated ability that lets you see things not usually seen by normal or technological means,” Dr. Pines replied. “Sixer can’t see body heat in this state, but he can see other things, such as when someone is attempting to watch us through magical means.”

“Or the energy my niece carries.” Sixer breathed deeply again, and his shoulders relaxed. When he turned to look at them again, his eyes had returned to normal. “Star is in the direction you’re looking, Maria.”

_::All right! I knew you could do it, Sixer!::_

Elisa almost jumped. Right; she’d forgotten that the phone in Dr. Pines’ hand was still on.

 _::The gargoyles just confirmed that there are a couple Quarrymen hanging around the area, too::_ Maria added. _::One of them’s gone back to let the rest of the clan know, so we’re going to have to wait here for a bit. I’ll work on messing up their systems in the meantime, and then I think the plan is to go in and get Star back::_

“I can’t help you there,” Elisa spoke up. “I don’t have a warrant to go in.”

“Do you really need one when a kid’s life is on the line?” Stanley replied.

“I agree.” Dr. Pines nodded. “You should still come in with us, or at the very least, let your local precinct know of the situation. We’re going to need a place to keep these people, after all.”

“If we can hold onto them.”

“Ah, one’a _those_ schmucks, huh?” Stanley frowned. “Gotta hate the ones wit’a get outta jail free card. Ya wanna get out, ya get out _the hard way,_ right?” He looked at Dr. Pines.

“Or, at the very least, spend long enough in there that you know exactly what everyone else in the dimension thinks of you.” Dr. Pines pushed his glasses up.

“…you must have one heck of a story,” Elisa said. “Maybe fill me in after we’ve rescued your niece?”

“Perhaps.” Dr. Pines smiled slightly. “But let’s focus on the problem before we talk about after.”

Elisa nodded in agreement and pulled out her phone. “I’ll get my connections and see if there’s anything they can do about setting up a trap outside for the stragglers.”

Stanley gave a thumbs-up as he, Sixer, and Dr. Pines nodded in agreement.


	11. Gravity Well

Star did _not_ like the people she was stuck with.

“Ya really think that we’re gonna be able to permanently banish one of these fairy things if we do this?” One of her two guards motioned to where she was sitting against the back wall of her cell. “And we’re gonna do it to more of them?”

“That’s the boss’ plan.” The other shrugged. Star couldn’t really tell who was talking unless they were moving their arms. The masks were annoying to watch since they made it hard to see who was talking, since there weren’t any visible faces moving.

“And we needed her wings for that.”

Star’s wings had been stinging, and continued to sting. She didn’t want to think about waking up like that, much less what they’d done while she had been asleep.

Or was it knocked out?

“Apparently we did.” The second shrugged. “Maybe we need pieces of the fairy in order to banish the specific one we want?”

“We’d probably want someone high up if we’re gonna get all of them away from here, then. Those gargoyles, too. They’ve _really_ started to get annoying lately.”

Star turned her attention away from the two figures talking and looked around her cell again. It was simple, white, and metal. Probably a ton of iron, if all that talk of fairies was right. Fairies were normally supposed to not do things around iron, right?

“Yeah. Think they’re up to something?”

“No doubt. Xanatos could have them wrapped around his finger again for all we know.”

Star’s wings twitched, and she flinched as the stinging flared. She breathed in through her nose and sighed. She shut her eyes for a moment and breathed in again.

“They better not get in the way. I don’t know if our weapons are ready to be tested against the gargoyles again.”

“Well, we heard that they worked against the creatures that they ran into in California. Shame they got caught afterwards, though. We could have used their help.”

“What do you mean?”

“That little fairy girl? I heard she came from the scariest place on the planet. I heard some of the other guys talking about it – a place where almost nothing _but_ monsters live out there. Who knows what they could be feeling about us taking off with one of them.”

“You mean…they’re like the Clan?”

“Maybe. No one’s really had a chance to go investigate it thoroughly, other than a quick scouting mission.”

Star pulled her knees tighter against her chest, hugging them quietly.

“Think they’re gonna get here before we can banish this one?”

“Who knows? If they got rid of the other group, then they’re going to be gunning for us. I don’t think they’re going to get here before we’re done, but that’s just me. I mean, those things probably can’t teleport, can they?”

Star hoped Maria was okay. She hadn’t seen her since they’d both been knocked out at once. They were only talking about banishing her, though, so…maybe Maria got out?

No, she definitely did – they were talking about the group in California getting ‘taken out,’ so she was okay.

Star smiled a little.

“Hey, what’s with the look on your face? What are you thinking about, you stupid fairy?”

Star looked up at the two Quarrymen guards. “Auntie Flare and everyone else aren’t gonna sit around. They’re coming.”

“ _Auntie?”_

“So, you _are_ a clan?”

The Quarrymen were definitely interested in talking to her now.

“One _big happy family_!” Star grinned despite the pain in her wings. “And they’re _not_ coming for a tea party.”

“They aren’t going to be able to get in,” one of them said.

“That’s what you think~” Star laughed.

“Maybe we should take a few more bits off her wings and see how she feels then.” The second started to reach for the weapon at his side.

“It hurts, but I’ve felt worse.”

It was a truth, and Star hoped that they wouldn’t follow through if she said it.

The Quarrymen exchanged looks.

“And you’re gonna wish you’d felt worse when my grunkles are done with you.”

“What makes you say that?” one of the Quarrymen turned to look at her.

A faint blaring noise started coming from somewhere nearby.

“Intruders?” One of the Quarrymen turned their heads in the direction of the alarm.

Star let her shoulders relax slightly.

“Think it’s the gargoyles?”

“What would they want with us this time?”

The Quarrymen looked at each other, then at Star.

“Do you think it’s—”

Star thrust her hands forward before one of them could finish speaking.

The pink bubble of gravitational force caught the two Quarrymen and the door between them and Star by surprise.

“What in the—”

“I didn’t think she could—”

Star closed her hands into fists.

The pink bubble responded in turn, turning a darker shade that almost looked purple in color as it shrank away from the two Quarrymen and focused only on the door.

The Quarrymen guards stared as the metal door crumpled into a ball the size of Star’s fists.

“H-how….”

Star threw the ball at the stomach of one of them, sending him flying back against the wall across from her cell. The other one looked between his companion and Star before running off.

Star breathed a sigh of relief and rose to her feet. Her wings stung as she moved them to help get her balance, but it was bearable.

“It’s just like a paper cut,” Star murmured to herself. “Just a paper cut. I’ll be okay. I’ll be okay.”

The alarm was still faintly going as Star stepped out into the hallway. The Quarryman was still stuck on the floor under the remains of the door, and he started scrambling to try to move away from her.

Star shifted her fingers slightly, and a pink bubble of energy pulled the metal ball off the man.

The Quarryman scrambled to his feet. He looked between Star and her metal ball, then took off at a run down the hall.

“Nope.” Star threw out of a hand, catching him in a pink bubble.

“Ah-ah-aaaahhh!” The Quarryman started scrambling to find his footing as he started floating off the floor. “P-p-put me down! Please! I don’t – I don’t want to die!”

“I don’t kill people.” Star walked closer, holding her hand out to keep him from going anywhere. “But what you guys did hurts. A lot.”

“I-I-I didn’t have anything to do with that! I swear!”

Star frowned at him. It was the sort of frown that didn’t look right on a pre-teen. On someone a lot older, maybe. “You still helped.”

Star flicked her fingers, sticking the man in his bubble against the wall. She would have floated past him herself, but with so many neat little squares of scales taken off her wings, she wasn’t going to risk it.

She took off at a run instead.

Down the hall and around a corner. The four Quarrymen running past with weapons in hand didn’t get a chance to so much as point them at her before she’d yanked them out of their hands with a gravity field. The guns were mercilessly crushed with one fist while the squad was forced against the wall with the other. Star could feel the bubble in the hallway she’d left behind pop in response – no more altered gravity fields than she had hands, after all, and they weakened anyway the further away she got from them.

“What is this kid?!” one of the four demanded. “I thought she—”

“She’s not affected by iron?!” The second speaker started struggling more vigorously.

Star applied a little more pressure to keep him there, dropping the bundle of compressed weaponry at the same time. “I never said that I was.” She grinned and shrugged, ignoring how her wings stung at the movement. The grin dropped. “Where’s my family?”

The Quarrymen exchanged quick looks with each other. Those stupid masks made it so hard to see what it was that they were thinking, because she couldn’t see what their faces looked like. She hoped that they weren’t thinking about trying to rush her, because she wouldn’t have been able to handle that right now. Not with her wings hurting like that.

“W-we don’t know where they are!” one of them yelped. “W-we swear!”

“W-we just know someone’s breaking into the building!” the other added. “W-we don’t know where they are!”

Probably to be expected. They looked like a bunch of grunts.

Star put on her best smile. “Okay! Bye!” She promptly turned and walked down the hall and away from the men stuck to the wall.

“Hey! Aren’t you gonna get us down from here?!”

“You’ll be fine! Don’t worry about it!” Star turned to look back just before she reached a corner in the hallway. “I just need you to stay out of my way for a while, that’s all. See you later!”

With that, she turned and started down the hallway, leaving the Quarrymen shouting after her in fear. She frowned at their voices. She didn’t want to scare them like that, but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice right now. It was either keep them out of the way and get out or deal with every last one of them running after her to try and stop her.

The alarms were starting to get louder, and the hallway’s appearance changed abruptly from white tiled floors and metal walls and shifted to a carpet and walls that looked like one of those offices that showed up in TV shows sometimes.

Star couldn’t see any windows yet. She stepped out into the cubicles, looking around quickly for anything that looked like the outdoors. She needed to know where she was and how far off the ground she was before she could do anything else.

A laser shot past her head, mere centimeters from her nose.

“Hold it right there, fairy! Another step and we’ll make sure your wings are clipped permanently!”

Star turned her head and saw more Quarrymen standing nearby, weapons drawn and pointed at her.

“How’d she get away from the other guys?” one of them demanded. “The scientists on the lower floors said she wasn’t gonna be able to do any flying anytime soon, and the iron should’ve done something to her powers!”

“Keep her where she is!” their leader replied. “I don’t care if she can fly _without_ her wings and _with_ the iron everywhere in the building, we can’t let her—”

The Quarryman was cut off by the sound of glass shattering somewhere nearby.

Star brought up her fists defensively, ready to erect a gravity bubble at a moment’s notice, but something large and purple suddenly barreled into the squad of five Quarrymen and knocked them all over like bowling pins.

“Gargoyle!” one of them shrieked.

The being snarled loudly in response, making Star’s fists pop with gravity energy. Huge wings, a tail, long black hair….

The gargoyle threw the Quarrymen back and crushed their weapons under his clawed hands. “I suggest you leave. Now!”

The men scattered, some of them yelling for backup as the gargoyle turned to look at Star.

He blinked. “I had not expected to see you walking around freely.”

“Neither did they.” Star shrugged, holding back a wince as her wings flared up again.

“You are injured.” The gargoyle approached. “Your uncles are making their way up from the base.”

“A-and Auntie Flare?”

“Coming from above.” He held out a clawed hand. “I am Goliath. You look to be in no shape to fly.”

“Star.” Star reached out for his hand, only to find herself suddenly scooped up and put on the gargoyle’s back.

“Hold on.”

She didn’t need to be told twice. Goliath’s hair was a good enough place to hold onto that all she really needed to do was flatten herself against his back.

Goliath started walking back the way he had come, then started to pick up speed. “How good are you at flying?”

“I don’t want to try it right now.” Star didn’t want to think about how much her wings hurt.

“We are going to be landing on the ground, near a police detective that I trust,” Goliath said as they reached the window he’d crashed through. “There will be police there, as well. They are not going to harm you; you don’t have any reason to be afraid.”

“Mm.” If the gargoyle could trust humans, that was probably a good thing.

Goliath jumped out the open window, and Star was immediately hit with a strong gust of wind as Goliath’s wings flared out. She grabbed his hair even more tightly, but didn’t hide her face to protect her from the wind. She’d faced worse.

Her wings, on the other hand, burned _horribly._

Star gritted her teeth against the pain as Goliath swung around the building and came in for a landing near a blockade of police cars on the street. He didn’t so much as stumble as he went from gliding to walking, and as he came to a stop Star dropped from his back and landed lightly on her feet.

“Thanks,” Star said. “Is – is Auntie Flare okay?”

The dark-haired woman standing near their landing spot turned with a slight smile. “Unless she ran into some trouble up there rescuing you, she should be fine.”

At the same time, one of the windows on the upper floors exploded outward, cascading glass down onto the street below. A plume of flames shot out into the night, sucking in any bit of oxygen that was in the area, before abruptly going out. A second plume of fire exploded out on a lower floor before going out as well.

Star sighed in relief at the sight. Grunkle Sixer and Grauntie Maria were _both_ doing what they did best. “Good. It sounded like they wanted to get rid of us, and I dunno what Auntie Flare would’ve done.”

“Well, from the sound of it, they would’ve had a hard time getting rid of her.” The woman approached. “I’m Detective Elisa Maza. Star, right?”

Star nodded as Goliath turned and started walking towards a group of gargoyles standing nearby, of all colors and shapes.

“You’re not hurt, are you?”

“They peeled some stuff off my wings, but other than that I’m okay.”

Elisa frowned and moved her gaze from Star’s face to her wings. “I guess that explains why you didn’t fly down alongside Goliath…we have one of your uncles down here – he might be able to help alleviate the pain safely, at least. I don’t think any _other_ medical knowledge will be of any help.”

“Heh. Yeah, we’re…pretty weird that way.”

“I’ve probably seen weirder.”

Star didn’t argue with Elisa as she was led over to where Dr. Pines was pacing. He happened to look over as they approached, then made a double-take.

“Star!” Dr. Pines dropped to one knee immediately to get a better look at Star. “I was worried that you might have – nevermind; have you been injured in any manner?”

“They took pieces from my wings,” Star said. “It hurts a bit.”

Dr. Pines winced. “Oh, dear…that is going to be difficult to bandage…” He reached into the pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a pear-shaped, yellow fruit with orange spots. “Maria said to keep these around in case anyone came out injured. I should think that you count. She might have an opinion on how to nurse your wings back to health when she rejoins us.”

Star nodded and promptly started eating the fruit. “They were talking about trying to get rid of us.”

“Maria mentioned that as well.”

“She got out?”

Dr. Pines nodded. “She helped Xanatos’ son, Alexander, in the process, but we weren’t able to reach you in time in California. I’m glad we could get to you here.”

He held his arms out for a hug, and Star took it immediately, burying her face in his sweater.

“You sound a lot older than you look,” Elisa remarked as other voices started shouting.

“We’ve got runners! Go go go!”

Star looked up at the detective as officers ran past and around them, trying to catch scrambling Quarrymen as they bled from the building and tried to disappear into the alleys. Some of them looked like they’d been set on fire.

“Yeah.” Star’s mouth twitched for a moment. “Kinda happened, I guess.”

Elisa eyed Star for a moment, then said, “You were very calm coming out of there. Have you done things like this before?”

“Not the scariest thing.”

“You needn’t worry for her mental health, Elisa.” Dr. Pines looked up. “We have people at home to help with such things.”

Elisa stared at him. Star looked between them, putting two and two together.

“They didn’t know what to do with me, and it’s not like they were able to do anything other than…that.” Star motioned to her wings, effectively ending the hug. “I didn’t let them get close, since I just pushed them away with a gravity bubble. You’ll know where I was if you go up the building later. Just look for the metal balls that probably used to be weapons.”

“No casualties?” Dr. Pines asked.

Star shook her head. “If there are any, they aren’t my fault.”

“Good.” Dr. Pines held her close for a hug again. “Your control is excellent, my dear. Never forget that.”

“Mm.” Star buried her face in his sweater again.

“I’m going to watch the operation,” Elisa said. “If you have any questions about what’s going on, you can flag down the nearest officer.”

“I appreciate that.” Dr. Pines looked up and nodded.

Star hugged him tighter. Dr. Pines adjusted his arms in kind as the sirens went off around them, covering the shouts and screams of the officers and Quarrymen who were trying to run away as quickly as they could.

She hoped that not very many of them would get very far. Not after her what had happened to her wings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a shorter chapter, mostly because I didn't know at the time of writing (or now, even) how I could tackle the whole invasion of the Quarrymen's base. Be assured, though, that they definitely were taught a lesson by the Pines!
> 
> How exactly Maria and Sixer went about that, though, I'll leave up to your imaginations. :3


	12. Chapter 12

“I have to say, that was the best raid that I’ve ever had the chance to watch live,” Xanatos remarked. “The fact that some of them actually looked nervous around Star was even more intriguing. The wall-sticking trick you used back in the hotel in California, I assume?”

Star nodded from her spot on the couch. She was sitting just forward enough that her bandaged wings weren’t bumping against the cushions behind her. The pair of gargoyles looking at her wings and at each other in quiet conversation were being careful not to bump them, either.

“I can mess with gravity,” Star said. “Making people float and stuff isn’t a big deal.”

Xanatos’ eyes widened. “You – that is incredible. And it doesn’t mess with the planet’s sense of gravitational force?”

“I dunno. I don’t think so.”

“Generally, sir, magic does not affect the natural forces of the world unless it is strong enough to do so,” Owen said from behind Xanatos’ arm chair. “And none of the people from Gravity Falls have exhibited abilities that would put them on par with the power of the Fae King himself.”

Xanatos’ living room space was a few floors below the giant castle that took up the top of his towering skyscraper. There were plenty of gargoyle-proofed things around as well, as they were occasionally known to come down this far after the sun had set.

“I see. That makes sense.” Xanatos steepled his fingers and looked at the large couch the Pines had taken over. Star was between Sixer and Maria, and almost buried in their tails. “Well, congratulations, you have managed to not only rescue your niece, but you have also managed to land a large blow to the terrorist group that has been hounding the gargoyles and myself since their inception. I can’t help but feel a little like I’m in your debt for that, especially after you rescued my son.”

“I have no need to hold such favors,” Maria said.

“If we can ask you to leave Gravity Falls and its affairs alone and separate from yours in the future, that would be more than enough, thank you,” Dr. Pines said stiffly. “I think that will be more than enough compensation.”

Xanatos frowned. “That’s…fair, I suppose. You have already made it quite clear that you aren’t willing to do anything with me in cooperation for the sake of my own, personal goals.” He paused. “Although, I have to ask – do you intend to do anything about a certain organization that I am attached to?”

The question made Sixer incline his head slightly, and the gargoyles exchanged looks.

“Organization?” Lexington repeated. “Which one are you talking about?”

“The Illuminati, of course.” The half-smile that settled on Xanatos’ face made the gargoyles shift and look between each other, unsure of what it was that Xanatos wasn’t saying. “You already know what it is that the group originated for; if I told you I wanted to remake it for my own purposes, would you be at all against assisting me in taking down the current human leaders of this inter-connected web? Someone is going to have to keep the dominoes from falling when this one does, you know. After all, it _was_ set in place by a specific being for a specific reason.”

“Cease speaking in riddles, Xanatos,” Goliath growled from behind Sixer. “Does this deal in Oberon’s actions, or are we to assume this is something else?”

“It’s connected with us, Goliath.” Sixer glanced back at the purple gargoyle. “The origins of this group have very little to do with you, and a _lot_ to deal with Gravity Falls.” The kitsune’s ears were pulling back, and his tails in the red-and-white mass of fur around Star seemed a little more fluffed.

Goliath tilted his head back slightly and frowned. “This seems to be more than a coincidence.”

“It is simply a coincidence and nothing more,” Xanatos replied. “The fact that I was even a member of the group hadn’t crossed their minds until I mentioned it more directly. After that, their caution around me has only increased. Considering that, in its current state, the organization is likely one that may cause harm to you in the future—”

“We’re not here to play lackeys in any scheme you may have cooking up, Xanatos,” Dr. Pines said flatly.

“Yeah.” Stanley grunted. “We got our niece back, an’ the Quarry-whatevers got their message. As far as _I’m_ concerned, we could head back home in the mornin’ an’ leave each other alone fer the rest of our lives.”

The New Jersey accent got a number of stares from the gargoyles, but they didn’t comment on it. Apparently, they just decided to note it as familiar and continue with the conversation.

“How dangerous is it to keep this group going?” Broadway frowned, scratching his rotund belly. “I don’t _think_ I’ve heard of it before now…”

“It’s just a group of individuals who use it as a communication network of sorts under the pretense of making the world into…something more comfortable.” More comfortable for the people who were _in_ the Illuminati, of course, but he wasn’t about to say that when the Pines could very easily fill in any blanks he was leaving out. “Unfortunately, it seems that the will of the _founder_ and what _I_ understand of the group are not the same thing. I would like to rectify that little problem.”

“Really, Dad?” Alexander, who was standing in a corner with Goliath’s daughter, frowned. “They already did something about the Quarrymen, don’t make them do anything else.”

“It would be in their benefit just as much as it is in mine, if they decide to take it.” Xanatos shrugged. “After everything their little Star went through, I wouldn’t want to put them through anything far worse.”

Sixer and Maria exchanged frowning looks, then looked at the other three members of their family. Star had a furrowed brow of concern, but Dr. Pines and Stanley’s frowns mirrored the kitsune’s.

“And how, exactly, do you intend to get that to happen, my dear?” Fox was standing next to Xanatos’ arm chair, and looked much more curious about what was going through his head, rather than the Pines’.

“Tell them the truth, which I intend to do whether or not the Pines decide to assist me.” Xanatos shrugged. “Although, I have to say that having even _one_ of you along would add some credibility. I don’t personally care who does.”

Maria rested her elbows on her knees and brought hands with steepled fingers up in front of her mouth. She sighed after a moment and dropped her hands. “While having them gone would be useful, I am not the one to make that decision. Besides, we have done a great deal here already. Personally, I would be more than happy to return to Gravity Falls and let the Illuminati fall in on itself whilst scrambling to keep the rest of the world running, but that would be about as disastrous to the economy as a pandemic that practically froze and tanked the economy. I wouldn’t be needed for this ploy.”

An interesting observation, and a…rather specific example. Xanatos raised an eyebrow at Maria. “Not even with your…connections?” He looked at Sixer.

“I married into the family,” Maria said flatly. “I was never a direct form of frustration, even in the final confrontation.”

“What are you talking about?” Lexington leaned over the couch to look at Maria curiously.

“Apparently, the creator of the Illuminati organization is a now-dead demon, and the Pines had some hand in his death.” Xanatos motioned to the guests on the couch as the gargoyles’ gazes moved between him and them.

“A demon?” Goliath frowned.

“It is meant in the literal sense,” Dr. Pines said. “I am aware that you and those in your clan could potentially _appear_ as though you come from the same place, but that is not the case.”

Goliath still frowned, but there was a tension in his shoulders that relaxed slightly.

Sixer sighed and looked back at Goliath. “The demon had an unfortunate connection with the family. Xanatos seems to think that us confirming his death will be enough to make this web fall to pieces. I wouldn’t be so certain of that.”

“Do tell,” Xanatos spoke up.

“He’s a creature of _chaos._ They could be expecting him to pull something like this as a form of a test.” Sixer paused, tails flicking. “I have to agree with Maria, in that I’m not inclined to help. As much as I would rather _not_ deal with them in the future, I doubt they are going to be falling apart in a short time frame, unless you decide to do something to accelerate it.”

“Which I very well might.”

“If you do, I think we’ll notice,” Dr. Pines said blandly. He rose from the couch with a grunt. “I am not as interested in tying up loose ends as I was in cutting off the head. If you’ll excuse me, Brooklyn said he was willing to speak with me and answer questions I had concerning your clan and its… _housing_ problem.”

Dr. Pines promptly made his way to the elevator and stepped inside.

Xanatos shrugged. “Well, at least someone here is doing something that will make the castle less filled with gargoyles and far less of a tipping hazard. If you can take some back with you, by all means, please do. New York is crowded enough with people; gargoyles are another matter.”

That got him a few glares from those present, but he was used to that sort of thing.

“Yer pretty good at gettin’ people ta do what you want,” Stanley remarked. “But that ain’t gonna work all the time.”

“I don’t expect it to.” Xanatos shrugged. “I just feel that, in this instance, it would be beneficial to all of us.”

“I just wanna go home,” Star muttered. “Can we go home tomorrow?”

“That is the plan,” Sixer replied. He rested a hand gently on his niece’s head. “I do not want to keep the others waiting for longer than we have already.”

“Mm.” Star leaned against her grunkle, looking either relieved or tired. Perhaps even both.

Xanatos frowned. “I take it you are not going to help me in this venture, then? Even if it is something that could potentially be beneficial to you?”

Sixer turned to look at Xanatos, and the glare that was in those slit-pupil eyes made him pause.

“Cleaning up his mess here is _not_ what I signed up for,” Sixer said. “If you want to take care of it, fine. Do as you like. But leave us out of anything you’re planning. I for one do _not_ intend to be _used.”_

Xanatos blinked while Sixer huffed and leaned back against the couch, arms folded across his chest. Stanley looked similarly angry, but he wasn’t reaching for his brass knuckles at the moment, so that was probably a good sign.

He recovered and shrugged. “Well, all right, if that’s how you feel about it. I won’t press that any further.”

“Thank you.” Sixer didn’t relax, but at least he didn’t look like he was going to leap off the couch and make a break for the elevator.

“Considering the time, I am willing to leave you for the rest of the night to do as you please. You are all mature enough that you know not to anger each other on purpose, I suppose?” He looked at the gargoyles behind his guests.

“If they will be angering anyone tonight, Xanatos,” Goliath replied, “I have reason to suspect that it is more _your_ anger than _mine.”_

That gargoyle knew how to read him so well. Too well.

Xanatos was going to be _sad_ if Goliath decided to leave New York and move elsewhere to establish a new clan. He liked bantering with him and riling the gargoyle up.

“Although, you _did_ say that you were going to continue the conversation we had on the plane, after the problem had been taken care of.”

That caused all the Pines to stiffen.

“That’s right.” Fox tapped her chin. “Something about making sure we didn’t accidentally get the attention of creatures that you didn’t want us interacting with?”

Goliath’s gaze flicked down at the fox in front of him. Xanatos could almost see the gears turning in his head, along with the other gargoyles who happened to be present.

Sixer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up in the process. Interesting that they stayed on despite being made for a human’s head, and Sixer not having human ears. “We did agree to that. Fine.”

“Ya sure?” Stanley looked at him with a frown.

“He’s going to keep pestering us about it until we tell him.” Sixer looked at Stanley with an irritated expression before dropping his hand form his face and composing himself. “The demon that led the Illuminati looks like the symbol that’s normally associated with them.”

Xanatos blinked while the gargoyles exchanged looks. “A one-eyed pyramid?”

“Flat triangle, actually.” Maria rolled her eyes. “Add to that a top hat and a bow tie and dunk him in neon yellow paint and that’s your dead head of a cultist communications organization.”

Xanatos took a moment to absorb that. He exchanged looks with Fox before looking back at the guests. “Not what I was expecting. I assume, then, that there’s more to him than a glance will tell you?”

“Was,” Sixer corrected. “Remember, we killed the one this dimension was connected to.”

“How do you kill a demon, exactly?” Lexington looked curious. “Aren’t they kinda…I dunno, spirits or something?”

“Or something,” Maria muttered. “They’re creatures that generally have power in the deals they make with their victims. There are spells that can banish them, but after a point there is a moment where they become too strong for even those to work.”

“Then how did you kill him?” Xanatos asked. “Was it a debt that needed to be paid? A life for a life?”

Sixer visibly shifted on the couch while Star looked up at him with a worried look. Oh, he must have gotten close with that.

“You don’t need to tell me anything more.” Xanatos raised a hand. “But you do suspect that there are some in the Illuminati who made deals with him in the past, correct? I’m going to guess a request was made on this side for power of some sort while the demon made them do something for him in return.”

“Or had them owe him a favor,” Maria said.

“Or took somethin’ from ‘em,” Stanley added.

“I see. That would explain why you were so cautious around me until I said repeatedly that I _hadn’t_ shaken his hand in a deal.” Xanatos nodded.

Goliath eyed Xanatos with a deep frown. “I should hope you are telling the truth of this matter.”

“I am, Goliath. I’m not currently desperate enough to shake hands with a demonic creature.”

“Good. You on your own is _enough_ to deal with.”

Xanatos eyed Goliath for a moment, then leaned back in his chair. “Alex, Owen, what do you think of this?”

“They’re being _very_ generous telling you all this, Dad,” Alex said. “They could have just left you with a vague warning and no telling what this thing looked like.”

“Although, the fact that they haven’t given us the creature’s name is interesting,” Owen remarked.

“With any luck, you won’t need it,” Sixer said.

“He’s scary.” Star pulled one of Sixer’s tails up in front of her face. Her wings were shuddering.

“I’ll certainly be taking your word for it.” Xanatos didn’t know what it was that had scared the child, but if she could walk out of a hostage situation without batting an eye…

Well. This demon was likely the reason why she was able to keep a level head. _He_ had been _worse._

“I’ll watch for triangular creatures and make sure not to shake their hands,” Xanatos promised. “And I’ll make sure that the Illuminati does not become something you likely fear.”

Stanley snorted. “Trust me, buddy, we hardly fear it.”

“Considering you killed the head, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised by that.” Xanatos looked over the group again. “Well, it is time that I turned in for the night. I suppose I will be able to send you off in the morning?”

“If you get up before we leave,” Sixer replied.

Xanatos raised an eyebrow. “I suppose there is that, yes. I’ll make sure that Owen will be around to arrange for any ride you may need to get to the airport and back to Oregon.”

“Sir.” Owen nodded.

Sixer didn’t wait for the conversation to continue. His tails pulled away from Star as he rose to his feet. “I’m going to go get some air. I won’t be gone long.”

Star moved closer to Maria as Sixer stepped onto the elevator and disappeared.

“…if I have any conversations with you, something tells me what we just spoke on is something to be avoided,” Xanatos remarked. “I will keep that in mind in case we have future encounters.”

“If we ever do,” Maria muttered.

**Time Break**

When Xanatos woke up the next morning, the gargoyles were all back in stone, the news was talking about the Quarrymen raid, and the Pines were nowhere to be seen.

“I was kinda hoping to get Dr. Pines’ number. Shoot.” Alex frowned. “He had a lot of interesting insight on magic. The weird kind that he was used to working with, I mean.” He looked up at Owen as the family assistant sat down at the table with them. “What do you think, Owen?”

“His insight was…certainly interesting, but that isn’t the kind of magic you _should_ be learning yet.” Owen raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps later, after you have learned more from me.”

“Glad you’re not outright saying no. If you did, I probably would’ve snuck off to get that info myself.” Alex grinned.

Xanatos chuckled. Like father, like son. “I should hope that you are still on good terms with them, then. Otherwise you will not get the answers you are looking for.”

“Relax, Dad, I know what I’m doing far better than you.”

Fox frowned at Alex, considering some form of disciplinary action for talking back to his father, but decided against it. They were too proud of his cunning mind for that this early in the morning.

“So, Dad, what are you going to do now?”

“Now?” Xanatos blinked at the question.

“You’re thinking about the Illuminati. I can tell it’s been on your mind since the conversation last night.” Alex stuck a forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.

Xanatos inclined his head and smiled. “Well, let’s just say that I’m going to make sure that the parts that _I_ need don’t fall to pieces. I’m sure the Pines won’t mind if I make sure of that.”

Alex frowned.

“So long as we stay out of Gravity Falls, we shouldn’t cross paths with them again unless it’s something not Illuminati related.” Xanatos tapped his chin. “I just need a few more days to come up with something truly spectacular. Possibly with Demona’s help.”

“Why Demona?” Fox frowned.

“I’m certain she is getting rather bored as of late, what with her immortality and Macbeth making things quite dull.” Xanatos grinned. “This is going to be _quite_ fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Xanatos now has even *more* interesting neighbors than he had before, especially since they are magical creatures of an entirely different sort. The Pines got what they wanted -- confirmation that Xanatos would leave Gravity Falls alone -- and he got what he wanted. Kinda.
> 
> ...and yes, he's probably going to end up as the head of the Illuminati by the end of his schemes.
> 
> Next thing you guys see posted from me isn't gonna be something relating to Maria OR Sixer, which is a rarity for me. I'll probably start posting it in a couple weeks or so, just enough time to let me build up a buffer between myself and my readers. It's going to be a...very fun experiment, for me, and I hope you guys will like it.


End file.
